"Together with Turkey and Iran, we are developing joint mechanisms, which will not only register the violations of ceasefire agreements, but will also be able to respond to these violations, exert pressure on the violators," Lavrov said in the follow-up to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) ministerial meeting in Kazakhstan’s capital.
The Astana process is used to strengthen the ceasefire regime and define its criteria, which should be met by everyone who does not want to be associated with terrorists, Lavrov stressed.
Syria has been going through civil war for six years, with government forces fighting against both Syrian opposition groups who strive to overthrow President Bashar Assad, and numerous extremist and terrorist groups such as Daesh and Jabhat Fatah al Sham — both outlawed in Russia.
Syrian settlement talks take place on two parallel platforms, namely the UN-mediated Geneva talks, and the Astana talks, brokered by Russia, Turkey and Iran. Russia and Turkey are the guarantors of a nationwide Syrian ceasefire regime that came into force on December 30, 2016 and has been generally observed, despite continued reports of violations.
