The Astana format (consisting of Russia, Turkey, Iran) will soon convene a meeting of foreign ministers to talk about Syria in Doha, and some Arab nations could potentially have seats at the table as well, research fellow at the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Grigory Lukyanov said in an interview, , News.az reports citing TASS.
“Given the fact that the Astana format meeting will take place in Doha, the capital of Qatar—at least, that’s what has been announced—this is an important signal that Arab countries are also seriously concerned about the current situation,” the expert stated.
According to Lukyanov, “While the expansion of the Astana format didn’t seem likely previously, now it could be broadened to include Arab countries and neighboring states in the region that see the urgency in this.”
“In any case, Syria’s neighbors and other nations involved with interests in the region need to develop a common approach and get on the same page about how to respond to the changing order. Achieving a complete resolution of the conflict under current conditions is not on the table,” he noted.
Lukyanov also emphasized that “it’s clearly too early to make any predictions,” given how rapidly the situation in Syria is evolving. “All this does is raise concerns among all members of the Astana format, as well as other countries directly neighboring Syria,” he added.
The Astana format includes Russia, Iran and Turkey as guarantor countries of the process for resolving the Syrian crisis, as well as representatives of the Syrian government and opposition, the UN and observer countries – Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon. Negotiations have been ongoing since 2017.
Units of the Jabhat al-Nusra extremist group (outlawed in Russia) staged a large-scale attack on Aleppo and other Syria’s northern governorates protected by government forces on November 27. On November 30, the Syrian army command said that government forces had to regroup to save the lives of civilians and its troops and prepare for a counterattack.
