Sputnik - The fifth international meeting on Syria in Astana has kicked off on Tuesday with a session of a joint working group on de-escalation issues, a Sputnik correspondent reported.





ASTANA, July 4 (Sputnik) — Following the session of the working group, there will be a number of bilaterals at the level of delegations' heads and experts.

A plenary session is expected on Wednesday afternoon.

Astana meeting brings together the delegations from the three guarantor states — Russia, Iran and Turkey — as well as the Syrian sides and the United Nations teams. Jordan and the United States act as observers.

The latest Astana meeting in May was a breakthrough, as the three ceasefire guarantor states signed a memorandum on the establishment of four de-escalation zones in Syria.