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Conflict in Syria

Foreign ministries to decide on new venue for meetings on Syria — envoy

The next international meeting on Syria would be held in the second half of 2023

ASTANA, June 21. /TASS/. The venue for further Astana-format (Russia, Iran, Turkey) meetings will be determined by the foreign ministries of the participating countries, Russian Special Presidential Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev said at a press conference following the 20th International Meeting on Syria in the Astana Format on Wednesday.

"The venue for future meetings will be determined; the decision to hold meetings in this format was made at the level of the three countries’ presidents, <...> but this issue will be worked out at the level of foreign ministries," the diplomat said.

"In a joint statement [by the participants of the Astana format] that was read out <...> the last paragraph clearly said that the next international meeting on Syria would be held in the second half of 2023," Lavrentyev said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Kanat Tumysh said that the Astana-format meeting that ended today would be the last one. According to Russia’s special presidential envoy for the Middle East and African countries, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, the decision to no longer hold meetings on Syria in Astana was made at the initiative of the Kazakh side.

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Foreign policy Syrian conflict

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