Following the results of the fourth round of Syrian talks in Astana the representatives of guarantor-states (Iran, Russia and Turkey) signed a memorandum on de-escalation zones in Syria.The agreement has received endorsement by various important actors involved in the Syrian conflict including UN officials and even luke-warm approval by US officials.
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The memorandum, which comes into effect on May 5, envisages the cessation of hostilities between the sides, conditions for returning refugees, the restoration of destroyed urban infrastructure and the access of humanitarian organizations. Moreover, the checkpoints to control the movement of civilians and the ceasefire regime will be created along the de-escalation zone borders.
It is notable, that the agreement doesn’t apply to Islamic State and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorists, it doesn’t depend on whether they are inside a zone or not.
Moreover, the flights of the U.S.-led International Coalition are strictly forbidden in the area. The airspace will be also controlled by the guarantor-states.
Although this subject is not directly related to the purpose of my website, it is of interest to many US activists who are interested in the advanced revolutionary ideology of Syrian Kurds as I outlined in a previous post, and also how this latest agreement might dovetail with US officials who would like to see Syria fragmented. The Duran has very recently run a series of articles discussing the implications of this Memorandum worked out by Russia, Turkey, and Iran in Astana, Kazakstan. See this, this, and this. Also, added at 7 PM Seattle time, this post from RT entitled "Are airstrikes possible? Mixed signals from Washington on Syria safe zones".
