Latest Syria peace talks solidify final de-escalation zone
Russia, Turkey and Iran met with opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime to ink an agreement on the four safe zones.
The long-awaited sixth round of Syrian peace talks produced a signed agreement delineating the four de-escalation zones in the country, which has been torn apart by civil war since 2011.
The talks, held Sept. 14-15 in Astana, Kazakhstan, went smoothly for the most part. For the first time, the Sunni Salafist militant group Ahrar al-Sham agreed to come to Kazakhstan. Previously, the opposition faction had always declined to participate, yet ensured its indirect representation through the presence of the Alwiyat Suqour al-Sham faction.
