"The conflicting sides discussed the ways to strengthen the ceasefire regime and its extension across all Syria. The meeting was very important as it increased the level of trust between the sides. We hope that the outcomes of the Astana talks will make a contribution to the Geneva process and will become a crucial point for the Syrian future," Cavusoglu said Tuesday, while on a visit to Mozambique, as quoted by the Anadolu news agency.
The intra-Syrian talks, brokered by Moscow, Ankara and Tehran, were held in Astana on January 23-24 and brought the Syrian government and opposition groups face-to-face for the first time since the beginning of the civil war in Syria in 2011. The Astana negotiations will be followed by a UN-mediated meeting in Geneva expected to take place on February 8.
As a result of the talks, Russia, Iran and Turkey decided to establish a trilateral mechanism to monitor the ceasefire in Syria.
According to Cavusoglu, this mechanism is very important and it is hard to overestimate the role of Iran, which is supporting some groups, including Hezbollah, which, on their part, are backing President Bashar Assad.
