MOSCOW. March 15 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Astana on March 16 to attend a meeting of the foreign ministers of the guarantor countries of the Astana process aimed at facilitating a settlement in Syria.
The guarantor countries of the Astana process are Russia, Iran, and Turkey.
The upcoming meeting is timed to coincide with the first anniversary of the establishment of the Astana process, the Russian Foreign Ministry's press service said in a statement.
While in Astana, Lavrov is also expected to meet with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
"The participants in the ministerial meeting will assess the results reached over the first year of interaction on Syria in the trilateral format, including the Syrian National Dialogue Congress held in Sochi on January 30, 2018. They will also discuss the situation on the ground and the successes and difficulties of the de-escalation process," the ministry said.
During the meeting, the ministers plan to outline new steps to try to end violence in Syria, ease the humanitarian situation, and create a favorable environment to promote a political process supervised and conducted by the Syrians themselves in order to reach a lasting settlement in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2254 and decisions adopted at the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi, the ministry said.
Moscow has a high opinion of the potential of the Astana process as an important mechanism to facilitate a Syrian settlement, it said.
"A great deal has been achieved since it [the Astana process] was launched a year ago. Contacts between the delegations of the Syrian government and armed opposition units were launched for the first time. Agreements were achieved to establish de-escalation areas and set up a working group on the release of hostages, the transfer of bodies, and the search for the missing. The principles of humanitarian mine clearance in Syria were worked out, as well," the ministry said.
Moscow has been firm and consistent in its "support of the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Syria," it said.
"The Aerospace Forces of Russia will continue to support the Syrian Armed Forces in their efforts to finish off terrorist units on Syrian soil. The fight against terrorism should become a common cause for the entire international community. It is unacceptable to apply double standards to this issue, make attempts to divide terrorists into 'good ones and bad ones,' and make them serve one's geopolitical interests," the ministry said.
"It is obvious for us that the Astana process still holds considerable potential from the point of view of restoring peace, stability, and order to a united Syria. To this end, the three guarantor countries, Russia, Iran, and Turkey, are unfailingly committed to strengthening all of their interaction in order to make the negotiating process aimed at resolving the conflict in Syria irreversible on the basis of the interests of absolutely all of the citizens of this country," the ministry said.