Iran hosts tripartite expert-level meeting on Syria

An expert-level tripartite meeting was held here in the framework of international efforts, namely Astana Process, to settle conflicts in Syria, a statement by Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

In the meetings held on April 18-19, delegations of Iran, Russia and Turkey discussed the draft documents proposed to the three parties, the statement was quoted as saying by semi-official Mehr news agency.

The documents include the cease-fire regime in Syria and its implementation, as well as exchange of detainees and abductees, the statement said.

A delegation of experts from the United Nations also joined the trilateral meetings as observers, bringing in invaluable expertise and technical assistance.

The Tehran meeting was held in preparation for the fourth international meeting on Syria, due to be held in Astana on May 3-4, 2017.

So far, three rounds of such meetings have been held in the Kazakh capital.

In the third round of negotiations, the opposition group declined to join citing the strikes made by Russian air forces as reasons to abstain negotiations in Astana, while Russia said they were finding excuses.

Apart from UN, representatives of the United States and Jordan were also invited as observers. Endit