Military option won't resolve conflict in Syria - Astana negotiators

MOSCOW, Oct 31 (KUNA) -- A military option will not resolve the conflict in Syria, said a final communique issued by the conferees of the seventh round of the Syrian peace talks in Astana on Tuesday.
The communique, read out by Kazakh Foreign Minister Khairat Abdul Rahmanov, underlined the importance of continuing efforts so as to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
Kazakhstan will continue its efforts in order to reach a peaceful settlement of the conflict, it said, adding that the next round of the Astana talks will be held in December.
The guarantor states agreed on discussing the Russian initiative to hold a Syrian national dialogue conference during the next Geneva talks, it said.
These states also agreed on continuing countering terrorism inside and outside the de-escalation zones, the communique said, referring to accomplishments made in terms of combating Al-Nusra Front and the so-called Islamic State.
Speaking at a news conference, Bashar Al-Jaafari, head of the Syrian delegation, said any presence of foreign troops on the Syrian territory, without the consent of the government, is considered a direct occupation, referring at the same time that the concerned parties agreed on a de-escalation zone in Idlib.
The call for holding the national dialogue conference was the result of coordination with Russia, he said, indicating that the congress would be held in Russia, as a guarantor state.
Syria made all possible efforts for dialogue not to say that Damascus doesn't want a political resolution to the crisis.
He considered the Turkish presence in Syria's Idlib as an occupation, recalling that the sixth round of the Astana talks allowed only the Turkish police to enter the city.
For his part, Yahya Al-Aridhi, representative of Syria's opposition delegation, threatened that there would be other options if the Syrian detainees totaling 250,000 are not released from prisons of the Syrian regime.
The Russian side promised the Syrian opposition that it would contribute to addressing the issue of detainees, he said, adding that Iran impedes this move.
He strongly criticized Russia's call for holding the Syrian national conference, considering the call as a violation to the UN Security Council resolutions.
He announced the rejection of the Syrian opposition to make the Astana talks an alternative to the Geneva negotiations, saying that the opposition agreed to take part in the peace talks in Astana for stopping bloodshed and a guarantee of the cease-fire.
He expressed his concern that the de-escalation zones in Syria would become a basis for dividing Syria. (pickup previous) as.hm