Orient Net, 29 June 2017— The plenary session – within the framework of the international Syrian reconciliation talks in Astana – aims to adopt regulations on a detainee and prisoner release working group at the upcoming talks, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said Thursday (June 29).

The next round of Astana talks is due to take place on July 4-5, the ministry added.

Earlier in the day, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said that Russia, Turkey and Iran, the guarantors of the Syrian ceasefire, plan to meet, one day before, in anticipation of the Astana talks, on July 3, for a joint working group session.

“The guarantor countries intend to adopt a provision on a working group for the release of detainees/hostages, prisoners, the transfer of bodies of the deceased and the search for missing persons,” the ministry said in a statement.

Agenda items include the borders of de-escalation zones, documents regulating the activities of control forces and provisions for a coordination center, the Kazakh ministry added.

“In particular, the parties will work to harmonize the borders and maps of de-escalation zones, documents regulating the activities of de-escalation control forces, the provisions on a coordination center,” the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said.

The fourth previous rounds of peace talks were held in the Kazakh capital of Astana on January 23-24, February 15-16, March 14-15 and on May 3-4. At the latest sessions, the three ceasefire guarantor states signed a memorandum on the establishment of four de-escalation zones in Syria, with the monitoring and management being carried out by the military personnel of these states.

“The parties plan to work out a joint statement on the humanitarian mine-clearing of the historical sites in Syria included on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list,” the ministry added.