Astana Platform

Astana Platform was created after several meetings in Nur-Sultan between members of the Syrian opposition forces. The platform is headed by the Syrian politician Randa Kassis.[1]

Astana Platform

منصة أستانا السياسية
LeaderRanda Kassis
Founded2015 (2015)
HeadquartersNur-Sultan

Timeline
  • 9 April 2015: At a press conference during the Syria talks in Moscow, Kassis called on the Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev to host the Syrian opposition for a new round of negotiations due[2] to Kazakhstan's neutrality and good relations with the permanent members of the UN Security Council.[3]
  • 21 April 2015: Nazarbayev accepts to host the new round of negotiations between the Syrian opposition forces.[4]
  • 1 May 2015: Kazakh Foreign Minister Erlan Idrisov and Kassis set up a political platform to assemble Syrian opposition members in the Kazakh capital Astana, which will later be known as the " Astana Political Platform "[5]
  • 25–27 May 2015: First round of negotiations mediated by Idrisov.[6]
  • 28 May 2015: Opposition forces issue a joint statement calling for a gradual political transition of power, the withdrawal of all foreign insurgents involved in the conflict and the release of all political prisoners. They also requested that Kazakhstan agree to host them again for a second round of negotiations.[7]
  • 17–18 September 2015: Center of Political and Foreign Affairs (CPFA), headed by Fabien Baussart, organises a conference entitled " Kazakhstan Peace Talks " with the Kazakh government in Astana.[8] The conference participants were multiple Nobel Peace Prize Laureates and other renowned politicians, Kazakh politicians including President Nazarbayev, Fabien Baussart and Randa Kassis.[9] During the conference, Kassis asked Nazarbayev to host a second round of negotiations in October, which he accepted.[10][11]
  • 2–4 October 2015: Second round of negotiations between Syrian opposition forces headed by the Secretary of State of Kazakhstan Gulshar Abdeskalkova and mediated by Baussart and the deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Askar Mussinov.[12][13]
  • 5 October 2015: The participants of the second round of negotiations release a joint statement calling for a reform of the Syrian constitution and the electoral process.[14][15]
  • 1 February – 23 March 2016: The Astana political platform is invited by the UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura to participate in the Geneva Peace Talks 2016[16] along with other opposition forces including the Moscow platform, the High Negotiation Committee (HNC) and the Cairo platform.[17][18][19]

Establishment of a Syrian constitutional Commission

In March 2017, the Astana political platform invited numerous Syrian academics, constitutionalists and political figures in order to start drafting a new constitution for Syria.[20][21] The initiative was launched by Kassis and later supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.[22]

The draft of the Syrian constitution was completed in July 2017[23] with the help of French constitutionalist expert Xavier Latour, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey Yasar Yakis[24] and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy Giulio Terzi.[25]

The Syrian Congress in Sochi

On 13 January 2018, Sochi hosted the Syrian National Congress, where numerous Syrian ethnic representatives and opposition forces – including the Astana platform[26] – met to discuss various issues. Kassis highlighted the importance of creating a constitutional committee in order to facilitate the peace process,[27] which the UN and Astana troika – Russian, Iran and Turkey – later agreed to.[28]

References
  1. Putz, Catherine (29 May 2015). "Why Was Syria's Opposition in Kazakhstan?". The Diplomat.
  2. "МЕЖСИРИЙСКИЕ КОНСУЛЬТАЦИИ В МОСКВЕ: ИТОГИ РАБОТЫ". Pressmia. 9 April 2015.
  3. Putz, Catherine (8 May 2015). "Kazakhstan to Host Syria Talks". The Diplomat.
  4. "L'opposition syrienne suggère de tenir des consultations à Astana" (PDF). Ambassade de France au Kazakhstan. 10 April 2015.
  5. "وزير خارجية كازخستان استقبل قسيس في استانا وبحثا الأزمة السورية". حركة المجتمع التعددي. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  6. Satubaldina, Assel (7 May 2015). "Kazakhstan's Astana to host Syrian crisis talks in May's end". Tengri News.
  7. ORAZGALIYEVA, Malika (29 May 2015). "Syrian Opposition Meeting in Astana Makes Tentative Headway in Finding Way Forward for Peace Process". The Astana Times.
  8. "Kazakhstan Peace Talks". The CPFA. 19 September 2015.
  9. "Мемлекет басшысы Ақылмандар кеңесінің мүшелерімен кездесті". ЖАҢАЛЫҚТАР. 18 September 2015.
  10. "رندا قسيس على طاولة رئيس جمهورية كازاخستان " سلطان نزار باييف " – سوريتي". 14 February 2019. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  11. "Des " sages " pour la Syrie". Réseau Voltaire. 26 September 2015.
  12. "Казахстан ждет дальнейших переговоров между сирийскими властями и оппозицией в рамках Женевского процесса". Astana Tv. 2 October 2015.
  13. "Second round of Syrian opposition talks to kick off in Astana on Friday". Aki Press. 2 October 2015.
  14. "В Астане подписана итоговая декларация по борьбе с кризисом в Сирии". Inform Kazakh. 4 October 2015.
  15. ORAZGALIYEVA, Malika (6 October 2015). "Representatives of Syrian Opposition Meet in Astana". The Astana Times.
  16. Zraick, Karen (29 January 2016). "Syria Talks Are Complicated by Competing Opposition Groups". The New York Times.
  17. "Moscow-Astana Group – Media Stakeout". UN Web Tv. 23 March 2016.
  18. "О встрече Министра иностранных дел России С.В.Лаврова с председателем сирийского оппозиционного "Движения за плюралистическое общество" Рандой Кассис". The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. 10 March 2016.
  19. "Press release on Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov's meetings on the sidelines of the intra-Syrian talks in Geneva". The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. 3 February 2016.
  20. GUSEV, Leonid (19 September 2019). "The Astana Process - Problems and Prospects".
  21. "Syrian Kurds Discuss Constitution in Geneva, Want Independence or Confederation". 27 March 2017.
  22. أسالخانوفا, إينا (28 March 2017). "منصة أستانا: غاتيلوف يؤيد مقترحات الخبراء السوريين حول الدستور الجديد". Novosti.
  23. Мировые, новости (5 January 2017). "Сирийская оппозиция предлагает проект унитарного государства из 14 регионов". FORBES.
  24. "ندوة لمنصة أستانة السياسية في جنيف حول الدستور السوري.. ما هي أهم التوصيات؟". Aletihad Press. 13 July 2017. Archived from the original on 1 February 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  25. Terzi, Giulio (10–13 July 2017). "Expert Meeting on Syrian Constitution". Giulio Terzi.
  26. Hebel und Sydow, Christina und Christoph (29 January 2018). "Frieden, wie Putin ihn mag". Der Spiegel.
  27. "SYRIAN OPPOSITION: RUSSIA PROTECTS SYRIA FROM COLLAPSE". Special Monitoring Mission to Syria. 31 July 2018.
  28. "Russia's Syrian peace conference teeters on farce". The Guardian. 30 January 2018.
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