Russia, Turkey and Iran Meet in Astana to Discuss Syria Cease-Fire

Experts from Russia, Turkey, Iran and the United Nations are meeting in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, to discuss the details of the cease-fire in Syria, Reuters reported.

Jordanian representatives are also expected to attend, according to the Kazakh foreign ministry.

“This is about creating a mechanism to control the implementation of the cease-fire,” the ministry spokesman said.

The fragile cease-fire went into effect on December 30. It has largely held despite alleged violations, and the exclusion of the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) and the powerful jihadist group Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (JFS).

On Sunday, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow supports U.N.-sponsored Syria peace talks in Geneva, which are scheduled to take place on February 20, Reuters reported. The Geneva talks were delayed from their original date, February 8, when Lavrov postponed them.

“We are not planning to replace Geneva with the Astana format,” Lavrov said, describing the Astana talks as a “breakthrough step” in negotiations.

UNHCR Chief Rejects Safe Zones in Syria, Says Peace Should Be Objective

Safe zones will not work in Syria, said the head of the U.N.’s refugee agency on Friday, Reuters reported.

“Frankly, I don’t see in Syria the conditions,” said Filippo Grandi, U.N. high commissioner for refugees. “With the fragmentation, the number of actors, the presence of terrorist groups, it’s not the right place to think of that solution.”

U.S. president Donald Trump said he would “do safe zones” in Syria for refugees fleeing the violence, adding that Europe had made a mistake by taking those refugees in. Trump did not elaborate on his safe zone plan, except to say Gulf countries would pay for them.

In a visit to Lebanon, Grandi met with Lebanese president Michel Aoun, who said governments should collaborate with the Syrian government to create safe zones in Syria. More than 1 million Syrians refugees are now living in neighboring Lebanon.

“Let’s not waste time planning safe zones that will not be set up because they will not be safe enough for people to go back,” Grandi said. “Let’s concentrate on making peace so that everything becomes safe. That should be the investment.”

Jordan Targets ISIS in Southern Syria

Jordan said it targeted positions of the so-called Islamic State in Syria on Saturday, Al Jazeera reported.

“Jordanian air force planes, in memory of our martyrs who have fallen in our war against terrorism, on Friday evening targeted various positions of the terrorist gang Daesh [ISIS] in southern Syria,” the military said in a statement.

The strikes, Jordan said, destroyed an arms depot, a car bomb workshop and a barracks in southern Syria.

RECOMMENDED READS:

• The New York Times: How ISIS Benefits From Trump’s Ban on Syrians
• Voice of America: Syria Creates All-Female Force in Kurdish Area
• Middle East Eye: U.S. Dividing Iraq From Syria With Border Airstrikes Against I.S.
• The Century Foundation: Red Line Redux: How Putin Tore Up Obama’s 2013 Syria Deal
• The New York Review of Books: How Assad Is Winning