According to participants attending the pre-meeting in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi ahead of a 10th round of Syria talks, as part of confidence-building measures, the sides will mutually release a limited number of detainees that they held, AA reported.
No further details were provided by the participants -- who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media -- on how many detainees will be released or from what region.
The 10th round of Syria peace talks will start on Tuesday, which will address the latest situation in de-escalation zones in Idlib, Syria, the return of refugees, the release of prisoners, and the formation of the constitutional committee.
Moscow regretted Washington’s refusal to send its observers to Astana talks. “We consider the US refusal to send its representatives to Sochi as an intention to downplay the importance of the Astana format, and to discredit the implementation of mediation efforts in Syrian affairs that Washington is unable to put under its control,” Maria Zakharova, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Monday.
Idlib is set to be a top issue during the Astana meeting, as the Turkish delegation is expected to stress the importance of maintaining the cease-fire regime in the region.
Russia during the meeting is expected for the first time to bring up the issue of the return of refugees and displaced persons.
Russian officials have recently visited Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon, which host the majority of Syria’s refugees.
UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura is also expected to meet with the Turkish, Russian and Iranian officials on the formation of a constitutional committee.
During the 9th Astana meeting held on May 14-15, all parties agreed to maintain the de-escalation zones and the cease-fire.
However, the Assad militias and their allies took control of the de-escalation zones in the Homs region, Daraa, and Quintieri following a heavy offensive.
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