On March 6, representatives of the three guarantor states of the Astana process – Russia, Turkey and Iran – held consultations with the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura at the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the UN. Russia was represented by Sergey Vershinin, the Foreign Minister’s Special Envoy for the Middle Eastern Settlement and Director of the Foreign Ministry’s Middle East and North Africa Department.        

The officials discussed the coordination of measures to be taken to implement the decisions of the Syrian National Dialogue Congress, which was held in Sochi on January 30. They agreed to maintain coordination between the three guarantor states of the Astana process and the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria in order to facilitate a lasting political settlement in Syria.

When discussions shifted to Eastern Ghouta, the Russian official pointed out the destabilising role of the terrorists from Jabhat al-Nusra and groups affiliated with it, who are shelling residential districts in Damascus on a daily basis and hindering the evacuation of civilians to Syria’s safe regions via humanitarian corridors.