Astana 7 Sets Issue of Detainees as its Priority

 A general view shows the fifth round of Syria peace talks in Astana on July 5/AFP
A general view shows the fifth round of Syria peace talks in Astana on July 5/AFP
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Astana 7 Sets Issue of Detainees as its Priority

 A general view shows the fifth round of Syria peace talks in Astana on July 5/AFP
A general view shows the fifth round of Syria peace talks in Astana on July 5/AFP

Delegations of the Syrian armed opposition factions in addition to the Syrian regime, headed by Bashar Jaafari, have gradually arrived in the Kazakh capital on Sunday to participate in the intra-Syrian Astana 7 talks, expected to kick off on Monday, according to the Kazakh Foreign Ministry.

During the talks, the delegation of the Syrian opposition factions hopes to get clear responses on issues related to the detainees file.

“The priorities of the opposition delegation during the Astana 7 meetings is the issue of the detainees,” spokesman for the Syrian opposition Yahya al-Aridi told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Al-Aridi said that during the last round of the International Meeting on Syria in Astana, the three guarantors of the ceasefire have pledged that the file of detainees will be given a priority in the current talks.

The opposition factions also plans to present the issue of violations in the de-escalation zones, according to al-Aridi, who said: “The delegation wants to discuss the issue of violations, which are all conducted by the Syrian regime and their allies, or in other terms, the side guaranteed by Russia.”

The spokesperson asked the three guarantors of the ceasefire to offer pledges in this regard, saying that the opposition would have a different position if the violations continue.

Al-Aridi did not rule out the possibility that the Russian side also discuss the Congress of Peoples of Syria to be held at the Hmeimim air base on Nov. 18.

On Monday, the Kazakh capital will host a meeting sponsored by Russia, Iran and Turkey, the guarantors of a ceasefire in Syria, also attended by delegations from the opposition factions and the Syrian government in addition to experts from the UN.

Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry had previously announced that the meeting would focus on the files of detainees and the fate of those missing, in addition to battling terrorism and the situation in the de-escalation zones.

The Astana talks were preceded on Sunday by a phone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The two men discussed the latest developments in Syria, their continued coordination ahead of the seventh round of peace talks in Astana on Monday, efforts to safeguard operations in the de-escalation zones, in addition to means to battle terrorism.

At the battlefield, regime forces controlled on Sunday two new neighborhoods in the city of Deir Ezzor in east Syria, following fired clashes with ISIS militants.

During battles waged in the past 24 hours, 73 people were killed from both sides.



Trump, Netanyahu Meet Again as Gaps Said to Narrow in Gaza Ceasefire Talks

07 July 2025, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump receives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak privately in the Vermeil Room before a dinner at the White House. (Daniel Torok/White House/dpa)
07 July 2025, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump receives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak privately in the Vermeil Room before a dinner at the White House. (Daniel Torok/White House/dpa)
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Trump, Netanyahu Meet Again as Gaps Said to Narrow in Gaza Ceasefire Talks

07 July 2025, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump receives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak privately in the Vermeil Room before a dinner at the White House. (Daniel Torok/White House/dpa)
07 July 2025, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump receives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak privately in the Vermeil Room before a dinner at the White House. (Daniel Torok/White House/dpa)

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday met for a second time in two days with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss Gaza as Trump's Middle East envoy said Israel and Hamas were closing their differences on a ceasefire deal.

Netanyahu arrived at the White House shortly before 5 p.m. EDT for a meeting that was not expected to be open to the press. The two men met for several hours during a dinner at the White House on Monday during the Israeli leader's third US visit since the president began his second term on January 20.

Netanyahu met with Vice President JD Vance and then visited the US Capitol on Tuesday. He told reporters after a meeting with the Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson that while he did not think Israel's campaign in the Palestinian enclave was done, negotiators are "certainly working" on a ceasefire.

"We have still to finish the job in Gaza, release all our hostages, eliminate and destroy Hamas' military and government capabilities," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu's return to the White House to see Trump on Tuesday pushed back his meeting with US Senate leaders to Wednesday.

Shortly after Netanyahu spoke, Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said the issues keeping Israel and Hamas from agreeing had dropped to one from four and he hoped to reach a temporary ceasefire agreement this week.

"We are hopeful that by the end of this week, we'll have an agreement that will bring us into a 60-day ceasefire. Ten live hostages will be released. Nine deceased will be released," Witkoff told reporters at a meeting of Trump's Cabinet.

The Gaza war erupted when Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Some 50 hostages remain in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive.

Israel's retaliatory war in Gaza has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave's health ministry. Most of Gaza's population has been displaced by the war and nearly half a million people are facing famine within months, according to United Nations estimates.

Trump had strongly supported Netanyahu, even wading into domestic Israeli politics by criticizing prosecutors over a corruption trial against the Israeli leader on bribery, fraud and breach-of-trust charges that Netanyahu denies.

In his remarks to reporters at the US Congress, Netanyahu praised Trump, saying there has never been closer coordination between the US and Israel in his country's history.