Note from the Office of the UN Special Envoy for Syria

Geneva, 1 May 2017 - UN Special Envoy de Mistura will be joining the high-level meeting on Syria in Astana on 3 and 4 May. In view of the urgency and importance of re-establishing a de-escalation of the situation in Syria and moving on confidence-building measures, he has agreed to attend the meeting as an observer at the invitation of the Kazakh government.

While in Astana, the Special Envoy will be supporting efforts by the guarantors of the ceasefire and other participants to de-escalate the military situation. He will be accompanied by a technical delegation of UN experts who have been present in previous Astana meetings and will continue to bring to the table the considerable expertise of the UN on ceasefire issues and confidence-building.

While in Astana, the Special Envoy will also use the opportunity to conduct political consultations with the ceasefire guarantors and others that will be present. This will be particularly timely as he is at present putting finishing touches on his deliberations regarding the next round of intra-Syrian talks in Geneva.The Security Council has reiteratedthat the Geneva talks remain the prime forum for advancing a political process to put an end to the Syrian conflict.​