Al Monitor | Hilal Koylu: The fourth round of cease-fire talks to resolve the six-year Syrian proxy war took place in Astana, Kazakhstan, on May 3-4. Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov announced that Turkey, Iran and Russia had signed a memorandum to establish safe zones in Syria. However, the Syrian opposition groups opposed to Iran’s guarantor role in this process said they could not accept this memorandum, as the safe zone plans threaten the territorial integrity of Syria. Washington also said it has concerns about the memorandum.


According to an official statement from the Turkish Foreign Ministry, there would be safe zones in “Idlib province and certain parts of Latakia, Aleppo and Hama provinces; certain parts of Homs province; Eastern Ghouta/Damascus; and certain parts of Daraa and Quneitra provinces.” The agreement is aimed at ceasing the use of any kind of weapon, including aerial assets, and at ensuring urgent and unhindered humanitarian access in safe zones.

A senior Turkish foreign affairs official who spoke on condition of anonymity told Al-Monitor: “We know that both Washington and Ankara are concerned that Iran and Russia might not stop their attacks within the region. However, we should put aside such concerns and put intense pressure on Russia and Iran to stop their attacks.”

This memorandum came into effect May 5 while Ankara was carrying out intense phone diplomacy with Tehran, Moscow and Washington regarding the details of the memorandum. Russia’s statement that the safe zones will also be be no-flight zones, banning US aircraft, escalated tension between Russia and the United States and raised questions about the fate of the agreement.

Another senior Turkish foreign affairs official said, “We are preparing for the Erdogan-Trump meeting on May 16 and working on these questions as well. We want to tackle the global perception that there may be a 'war' between Russia and the United States. If both Russia and the United States want an end to the Syrian civil war, we all have to cooperate with each other.”

 

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