The three guarantor countries of the "Astana Process," Russia, Iran, and Turkey, expressed their readiness to support the work of the Constitutional Drafting Committee to ensure its effective and sustainable performance, reaffirming the independence and sovereignty of Syria.
A joint statement issued by the three countries and published by the Iranian Foreign Ministry reiterated their commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic, emphasizing the necessity for all parties to respect these principles. The three countries expressed their willingness to support the committee's work through their ongoing participation with delegations, the Syrian envoy, and the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, as a facilitator to ensure the effective and sustainable functioning of the committee.
The joint statement clarified that the Syrian Constitutional Committee should operate in a spirit of compromise and constructive participation, without external interference or the implementation of foreign programs, so that committee members can reach a consensus and achieve viable results, indicating the committee's acceptance and support by the Syrian people to the greatest extent possible.
The joint statement emphasized the continuation of consultations regarding the aforementioned issues until the next meeting of the international assembly within the Astana Process (the fifteenth international summit of the Astana process) in Sochi on February 16 and 17. It is noteworthy that the Astana peace talks for Syria took place between representatives of the Syrian state and several leaders of Syrian opposition factions, sponsored by Russia, Turkey, and Iran, in the Kazakh capital "Astana" on January 23 and 24, 2017.
