Egypt received an invitation to join the talks on Syria in Astana the capital city of Kazakhstan, as an observer in the talks, which are scheduled for late October, according to TASS Russian News Agency.
TASS cited the Russian Presidential Envoy for the Syrian Settlement Alexander Lavrentyev that “China, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon could act as observers [in the Astana talks].
The Egyptian ambassador to Syria Mohamed Al-Badri said last week that Egypt is ready to exert all possible efforts, to find out a solution for the Syrian crisis through participating in the Astana talks, according to Russian state agency Sputnik.
Professor of Political Science at Suez Canal university Gamal Zahran told Daily News Egypt that the invitation is a good step, and Egypt has to take part the process of solving regional issues in the region. He also stressed that the Syrian national security is part of the Egyptian national security.
Zahran believes that “Egypt has to coordinate with Saudi Arabia regarding the Syrian crisis,”. He argues that Egypt “can not leave the Saudi course of action,” when it come to the Syrian conflict.
“Egypt should take its independent stance, which also serves the interests of the Arab national security, especially that its capabilities qualifies it to play an important role,” Zahran said. He expects that the current rapprochement between Egypt and Russia may negatively affect the Egyptian-US relations, as both powers differ when it comes to the conflict.
Last week, the Egyptian General Intelligence hosted and sponsored a ceasefire agreement between three Syrian armed groups: Islam Army, Aknaf Bait Al-Makdis, and Ababil Army. The agreement aims to ceasefire southern the Syrian capital city Damascus.
In May, Russia, Turkey, and Iran agreed to establish four safe zones in Syria, as a result of the Astana ceasefire talks, which were supported by the Damascus regime and opposed by the Syrian opposition delegates. Egypt has expressed its support for the Astana ceasefire agreement.
