Astana to host 7th round of Syria peace talks

The next round of multilateral Syrian peace talks will be held in Kazakhstan’s capital of Astana in late October, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said Thursday, reported Sputnik.

"Ceasefire guarantor states have agreed to hold the seventh international high-level meeting on Syria within the Astana process on October 30-31," the ministry said in a statement.

"The talks will aim to agree a provision establishing a working group that will deal with hostage and prisoner release, return of [fallen soldiers’] bodies and search for the missing," the ministry added.

Negotiators will also look at how to combat international terrorism and will make a joint statement on humanitarian demining efforts in Syria. Issues of mutual interest may also be raised during the talks.

Talks on the military aspect of the Syrian peace process have been held in Astana on a nearly monthly basis since this January. The latest round in September led to an agreement to create a so-called de-escalation zone in the northern province of Idlib.

Russia, alongside Iran and Turkey, is a guarantor of the ceasefire regime in Syria. It has been aiding the Syrian government both by supporting its struggle against terrorist groups and by providing humanitarian assistance to people in the war-torn country.