MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The spokesman's statement comes after a meeting between the Syrian government's and opposition factions' representatives in Astana on January 23-24 for settlement talks brokered by Moscow, Ankara and Tehran. The negotiations follow a ceasefire in the crisis-torn country endorsed by the UN Security Council on December 31, 2016.
"Astana, in my view, is a platform to help Erdogan to change his ways and means in regard to the Syrian crisis that will allow Turkey to work together with Russia, Iran and the Syrian government on forming a so-called regional security system. This system is needed to fight terrorism and to prevent future regional conflicts. Astana could be the first stage to build such regional security system," Ahmad, who is also a member of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), said.
The Astana talks on Syria wrapped up on Tuesday. UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said earlier in the day that the talks in the Kazakh capital helped create conditions for a new round of Syria peace talks set to take place in Geneva in February.
The UN envoy also noted that there still was no deadline to implement an agreement on the creation of a mechanism to monitor ceasefire in Syria where the civil war has been raging since 2011.
