The Islamic Republic of Iran, the Russian Federation and the Republic of
Turkey as guarantors of the observance of the ceasefire regime in the
Syrian Arab Republic:
- reaffirming their strong and continued commitment to the sovereignty,
independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic;
- welcoming progress in the implementation of the Memorandum on the
creation of the de-escalation areas in the Syrian Arab Republic of 4 May
2017;
1. Welcome the achievements made in the fight against terrorism in Syria,
particularly the defeat of ISIL and imminent liberation of all the Syrian
territory from ISIL;
2. Reaffirm their determination to continue cooperation in order to
ultimately eliminate DAESH/ISIL, Nusra Front and other terrorist entities
as designated by the UN Security Council and to prevent the relocation of
international terrorists to other countries and regions;
3. Express joint determination to continue coordinated efforts to ensure
that the progress in reduction of violence is irreversible. They underscore
the necessity to take urgent and active international steps in order to
assist the Syrians in restoring unity of the country, and achieving a
political solution of the crisis in accordance with the provisions of UNSC
resolution 2254 (2015) through an inclusive, free, fair and transparent
Syrian-led and Syrian-owned process leading to a constitution enjoying the
support of the Syrian people and free and fair elections with the
participation of all eligible Syrians under appropriate UN supervision;
4. Reaffirm their determination to closely interact on a regular basis to
support preparation for and convening of the Syrian national dialogue
congress in Sochi on 29-30 January 2018 with the participation of all
segments of the Syrian society and call on the representatives of the
Government of the Syrian Arab Republic and the opposition that are
committed to the sovereignty, independence, unity, territorial integrity
and non-fractional character of Syria to actively cooperate. To this end
three guarantors will hold a special preparation meeting in Sochi before
the congress, on 19-20 January 2018;
5. Emphasize that they view the upcoming Syrian national dialogue congress
as an initiative aimed at giving momentum to negotiation process under the
UN auspices in Geneva and facilitating an intra-Syrian agreement based on
mutual consent;
6. Adopt, with a view to building confidence between the conflicting
parties in Syria, the “Regulation on the Working Group on the release of
detainees/abductees and handover of the bodies as well as the
identification of missing persons” and the “Joint statement on humanitarian
mine action in Syria including the UNESCO list of cultural heritage sites”;
7. Reaffirm their determination to continue implementing the provisions of
the Memorandum of 4 May 2017 and other decisions adopted earlier within the
framework of the Astana process;
8. Emphasize the need to continue efforts aimed at strengthening the
ceasefire regime and ensuring the effective functioning of all four
de-escalation areas;
9. Express their sincere gratitude to the President of the Republic of
Kazakhstan, His Excellency Nursultan Nazarbayev and the Kazakh authorities
for hosting in Astana the 8th high-level International Meeting
on Syria;
10. Decide to hold the next high-level International Meeting on Syria in
Astana in the second half of February 2018.
Astana, 22 December 2017