Astana talks end with breakthrough to resolve Syria crisis
Osama Danura, a Syrian political analyst, said If the Turkish side and the rebels it's backing complied completely with the plan, "it will be an important turning point in the course of resolving the conflict in Syria."
"Now the credibility of Turkey and the rebels who attended the Astana talks is on the line, because it will be under test in the coming days," he said.
He added that the rebels should be truthful in terms of separating themselves from the terror groups.
"The success of this means that an old obstacle, about the overlapping of the rebel groups with the terror-designated ones, is over," Danura said.
He stressed that "It's all about the credibility of Turkey", noting that Ankara has the means to guarantee the commitment of the rebels.
For his part, Hmaidi Abdullah, another analyst, said there are several good aspects in the Astana talks.
He said the talks underscored basic demands such as separating the rebels from the terrorists, and the second is the approach of the three countries to fight the terror groups in Syria.
It's worth mentioning that Turkey and Russia carried out their first joint airstrikes against IS positions earlier this week in Syria, a translation to the agreement between both countries.
Meanwhile, Zahra Fares, a Syrian journalist and political analyst, said Astana talks achieved things that failed to be reached in previous talks between the government and the political opposition.
"I think there were several breakthroughs in the talks in terms of the shape of the talks as for the first time we have seen the rebels and the government sitting face to face, for the first time Turkey was the guarantor and be part of a coalition with Russia and Iran in the face of the terrorist groups," she said.
Fares also pointed out to another new thing in the history of the Syrian talks, saying "it's the first time when we didn't see a main role for the U.S. in these talks," as the U.S. wasn't among those making the conference or reaching the ceasefire as the country was busy with its presidential elections.
Regarding the tension that was sensed in the first session, Fares said "even though there was tension in the talks, but it was normal as those in the meeting are fighting on ground, and it's their first meeting."