'Astana' Talks on Syrian Crisis Discuss Humanitarian Aids, Drafting Constitution

Alexander Lavrentiev, the special envoy of the Russian President to Syria, said that the level of trust between the opposition and the Syrian government is still low, stressing that the absence of trust does not allow for compromises to be reached soon.

Lavrentiev explained, in a press conference held in Nur-Sultan, the capital city of Kazakhstan,   that "there is an important meeting with the Syrian opposition to present their ideas to correct the situation in Syria and increase the level of trust between them and the Syrian government.

He warned that the standing doubts hamper intermediate measures and decisions."

It is worth noting that the 16th round of Syrian-Syrian talks was held in the Astana format on July 7 and 8.

The meeting is expected to address issues related to the situation in the country, including humanitarian aids, economic and medical aid, as well as international humanitarian aid, the resumption of the work of the Constitutional Committee in Geneva, and the quest to restore trust.

The latest round of talks is also concentrating on the swap of prisoners between the government and opposition along with releasing of hostages.

Yesterday, Wednesday, a new round of Astana talks began in the Kazakh capital  on the Syrian crisis, in the presence of government and opposition delegations, and representatives  from the three guarantor countries, Russia, Iran, and Turkey, in addition to a number of observer countries, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan, and representatives of international organizations.

A source close to the Astana negotiations on the Syrian crisis stated that the new round of the Syrian Constitutional Committee may take place before the end of next August, indicating that the date comes before the end of July, but it is impossible, so it will take place before the end of August.

On the other hand, the UN Special Envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, had previously announced that he hopes to resume the work of the Syrian Constitutional Committee periodically in the near future.