The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the
Russian Federation and the Republic of Turkey as guarantors of the Astana
format held the trilateral meeting and consultations with the UN
Secretary-General`s Special Envoy on Syria Mr.Staffan de Mistura in Geneva
on 18 December 2018.
The Ministers:
1. presented the positive results of their consultations with the Syrian
parties on the composition of the Constitutional Committee;
2. reaffirmed their determination to facilitate the beginning of the
Constitutional Committee`s work by elaborating its general and guiding
principles through interaction with the Syrian parties and the UN
Secretary-General`s Special Envoy on Syria, on the basis of which the rules
of procedure that will ensure its efficient and sustainable work will be
determined. The work of the Constitutional Committee should be governed by
a sense of compromise and constructive engagement aimed at reaching general
agreement of its members which would enable the outcome to receive the
widest possible support by the Syrian people;
3. agreed to take efforts aimed at convening the first session of the
Constitutional Committee in Geneva early next year;
4. expressed their conviction that these steps will lead to the launch of a
viable and lasting Syrian-led, Syrian-owned and UN-facilitated political
process in line with the decisions of the Syrian National Dialogue Congress
in Sochi and the UN Security Council resolution 2254;
reaffirmed their strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity
and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic and emphasized that
these principles should be respected by all sides.