The 12th round of “Astana” peace talks on Syria took place in Nursultan, the newly renamed capital of Kazakhstan, April 25-26. Although the venue of the talks had a new name, the challenges the participants faced remained the same.

In addition to representatives from Russia, Iran and Turkey, the three guarantor states, also in attendance were Geir O. Pedersen, special envoy of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and delegations from the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition. 

Sources privy to the talks who spoke to Al-Monitor on the condition of anonymity said that the parties had disagreed on what should take priority on the agenda. While Tehran and Damascus insisted on exploring ways to address the situation in Idlib province, which is still controlled by rebel forces, Ankara and the Syrian opposition sought to focus primarily on a prisoner swap and the situation in the northeast and adjacent areas, where the Kurds hold sway. Meanwhile, Moscow deemed it important to finalize a list of members for a constitutional committee.

In light of these dynamics, no breakthrough was achieved in addressing any of the issues, but interests did converge on one particular item — criticism of the United States. Astana 12 may go down as the most anti-American of the talks.