The ninth round of the high level Astana meetings on Syria was held on
14-15 May 2018.
At the meeting, the participants reviewed mainly the state of affairs
regarding the implementation of the de-escalation memorandum as well as the
establishment of the Constitutional Committee which was declared at the
Syrian National Dialogue Congress. The issues of fight against terrorism in
Syria and improvement of humanitarian access were also addressed.
At the meeting, we registered our reservations on the forced evacuation
operations conducted in Eastern Ghouta and in the north of Homs, as well as
on the law that paves the way for the confiscation of the properties of
Syrian refugees and IDPs.
On the sidelines of the meeting, also the second meeting of the Working
Group established for the release of detainees/abductees was held. The next
meeting of the Working Group will be hosted by Turkey.
It was decided that the 10th round of the high level meetings in the Astana
format will be held next July in Sochi.