OREANDA-NEWS. The guarantor countries of the Astana process (Russia, Iran, and Turkey) opposed attempts to create self-government in Kurdish regions in northeastern Syria. This is stated in a joint statement by Russia, Iran and Turkey following the results of the 13th round of inter-Syrian negotiations in Nur Sultan on Friday. The parties also agreed to take concrete steps to protect civilians in Idlib.
 
"They rejected all attempts to create new realities on earth, under the pretext of the fight against terrorism, including illegal self-government initiatives. They expressed determination to oppose separatist plans aimed at undermining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria", the document read out by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Roman Vasilenko.

The parties also discussed the issue of holding an international conference for humanitarian aid to Syria. "We discussed the idea and exchanged views on the prospects of holding an international conference on humanitarian assistance to Syria", the report said.Russia, Iran and Turkey expressed satisfaction with the progress in agreeing on the final composition of the constitutional committee of Syria. The meeting participants noted the high importance of such events. In addition, countries considered new measures to rescue civilians in the war zone.

The fourteenth international meeting to resolve the situation in Syria will be held in October 2019 in Nur Sultan. "We decided to hold the next international meeting on Syria in the Astana format in Nur Sultan in October 2019," the document says. The 13th international high-level meeting on Syria was held on 1-2 August in Nur Sultan. It was attended by delegations of guarantor countries, the government of Syria and the armed opposition. Representatives of the UN, Jordan, as well as Lebanon and Iraq, who for the first time took part in the Astana negotiation process, were invited as observers to the negotiations.