Russia, Türkiye, and Iran, the guarantors of the “Astana Process” for Syria, are set to convene in the Kazakh capital of Astana for two-day talks next week.
Delegations from the Syrian government and opposition, along with representatives from Russia, Türkiye, and Iran, will participate.
These talks come amid increased Turkish operations against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Syria, triggered by the killing of 21 Turkish soldiers by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq within a month.
The SDF is largely made up of the People’s Defense Units (YPG), which Türkiye claims is the Syrian wing of the PKK.
There’s growing speculation about a potential new large-scale military operation in northern Syria.
The previous round of Astana talks in June focused on confidence-building measures, addressing issues like prisoners, improving conditions for refugee returns, and the situation in areas outside the Syrian government’s control.
Discussions also covered the opening of international roads, such as the Aleppo-Latakia (M4) and Aleppo-Damascus (M5) highways, based on previous agreements between Türkiye and Russia.
Additionally, the normalization process between Ankara and Damascus, facilitated by Russia and involving Iran, was a key focus in the last round.
However, no progress was made due to Syria’s insistence on a Turkish military withdrawal from northern Syria before engaging in any negotiations.
While Ankara hasn’t commented on the “Astana Process” or talks with Damascus, there’s increasing talk about the possibility of a new large-scale ground operation in Syria.
After a government meeting on Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that his country won’t stay quiet about the events in northern Iraq and will take further military actions to ensure its security.
