13th round of Syria peace talks ends in Kazakhstan

The 13th round of Syria peace talks in Kazakhstan capital Nur-Sultan, formerly Astana, concluded on Friday with a decision to step up joint efforts to prevent civilian casualties in Idlib.

On the second day of the meeting, the parties held bilateral and trilateral meetings to agree on the final declaration.

The declaration was read out at the main session attended by the representatives of Turkey, Russia, Iran, Syrian regime and opposition, Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vasilenko.

It highlighted the parties' commitment to Syria's territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty, underlining that the fight will continue against all kinds of terrorist groups.

The parties, which rejected the occupation of the Golan Heights, stressed that all relevant international resolutions should be respected, especially UN Security Council Resolution 497.

The statement also stressed that security and stability in the region can only be achieved by respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria.

Without preconditions, it said, humanitarian aid needs to be delivered to the people in Syria and called on the international community, especially the UN, to increase aid.

Turkey, Russia and Iran highlighted joint efforts to prevent violations of the cease-fire in Idlib, underlining that the fight will continue against the presence of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Daesh and Al-Nusra Front.

In the declaration, the parties expressed grief over civilian casualties and decided to take concrete measures to protect military personnel of the guarantor countries as well as civilian population.

The guarantor countries voiced their satisfaction with the formation of the constitutional committee and expressed their readiness for facilitating the meeting of the committee as soon as possible.

Idlib deal

The first meeting in the Astana format for reaching a cease-fire in Syria was held in January 2017.

After a Sept. 17 meeting in Sochi between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, the two sides agreed to set up a demilitarized zone -- in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited -- in Idlib.

Under the deal, opposition groups in Idlib will remain in areas where they are already present, while Russia and Turkey will carry out joint patrols in the area to prevent a resumption of fighting.

On Oct. 10, the Turkish Defense Ministry announced that the Syrian opposition and other anti-regime groups had completed the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the Idlib demilitarized zone.

Despite the cease-fire agreement, the Assad regime and its allies have continued their low-intensity attacks on Idlib's de-escalation zone.

The conflict in Syria began in 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.