Regional powers agree on Syria ‘de-escalation zones’

Russia, Turkey and Iran to create de-escalation areas in Syria, as opposition vents anger over Iranian involvement.

[Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

Russia, Iran and Turkey have signed a deal calling for the setup of de-escalation zones in war-torn Syria during talks in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana.

The signing ceremony on Thursday was briefly interrrupted by members of the Syrian armed opposition delegation, who condemned Iran’s participation in the deal.

“We saw several members of the opposition delegation stand up furiously condemning what was going on,” Al Jazeera’s Jamal Elshayyal, reporting from Astana, said.

“They shouted that Iran should not be a signatory to this. In fact, they went as far to saying that Iran is a criminal entity that shouldn’t be here and they stormed out.”

Elshayyal said that neither the Syrian government, nor the opposition – which on Wednesday suspended its participation in the talks in protest against ongoing air raids – had signed the agreement.

“It is very clear that this is regional powers who have decided that they are going to bulldoze their way forward and decide what’s best for Syria,” he said.

Syria’s civil war, currently in its seventh year, has killed hundreds of thousands of people and has drawn in world powers on all sides.

The latest round of talks in Astana are sponsored by opposition supporter Turkey and Syrian government backers Russia and Iran.

These negotiations are viewed as complementary to broader United Nations-brokered talks in Geneva on a political settlement, but neither have yielded real progress so far.

Kairat Abdrakhmanov, Kazakhstan’s foreign ninister, said that next round of talks in Astana would be held in mid-July.