Astana, May 17, 2018 - Kazakhstan's delegation took part in the regular meeting of the UN Security Council on the political track in Syria.

Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria Staffan de Mistura briefed the members of the Security Council on his participation in the ninth round of the Syrian talks held on May 14-15 in Astana. The UN Special Envoy noted that he was encouraged by concrete discussions on de-escalation within the 9th High-Level Astana Meeting and, in particular, on the issue of Idlib. The diplomat said the Syrian negotiations brought useful results in terms of rapprochement of the opposition and the government and expressed deep gratitude to the leadership of Kazakhstan for the excellent organization of the meeting.

Staffan de Mistura expressed hope for progress in revitalizing the political process to resolve the Syrian conflict and called for intensified efforts by all stakeholders in this regard. In his view, today is the time for high diplomacy of the parties involved, when summits should help advance the peace process in Syria.

In his speech, Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the UN Kairat Umarov informed the members of the Security Council about the outcomes of the 9th round of the Meeting on Syria and noted that the parties considered, inter alia, intensification of efforts to ensure compliance with the relevant agreements reached at the last eight rounds of negotiations in Astana. Kazakhstan's delegation agreed with Staffan de Mistura on the Idlib issue. Its resolution is of paramount importance at the present stage. On behalf of Kazakhstan, Umarov also praised the activities of the UN humanitarian personnel in Syria, namely, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC). It was emphasized that the conflict can be resolved only by revitalizing the political process through dialogue between the parties and confidence-building measures.