Türkiye, Russia, Iran and Syria on Wednesday condemned the actions of nations supporting "terrorist entities" in northeastern Syria as they assembled for Astana peace talks in Kazakhstan.

The guarantor countries reject "illegitimate self-rule initiatives" in Syria implemented under the pretext of fighting terrorism, a joint statement read.

Reiterating their resolve to combat terrorism, the sides added, "We stand against separatist agendas that threaten the national security of neighboring countries."

Since Tuesday, deputy foreign ministers from Türkiye, Russia, Iran, as well as Bashar Assad’s regime, have been in the Kazakh city for the 20th round of Astana talks, an initiative launched in 2017 by Türkiye, Iran and Russia to bring the warring sides in Syria together to find a permanent solution to the decade-long war.

The guarantor countries on Wednesday held bilateral meetings and discussed developments "in the field" and Syria’s immediate region.

A roadmap for the normalization of ties between the Damascus-based regime and Ankara was also on the agenda besides the release of hostages, missing persons, the humanitarian situation, the rebuilding of Syria, and establishment of conditions for the return of Syrian refugees.

However, the most prominent topic was counterterrorism efforts in Syria, where terrorist groups, including Daesh, the PKK and the YPG, rose to prominence amid the conflict.

The YPG is PKK’s Syrian affiliate and the United States has strongly backed it under the pretext of fighting the Daesh terror group. Thanks to U.S. help worth millions of dollars, the YPG has grown stronger in northeastern Syria. Along with the PKK, it still controls much of the war-torn country’s east, making it impossible for Assad to establish territorial integrity.

Since the civil war broke out, Türkiye has backed the opposition as the Bashar Assad regime frequently denounced Ankara’s support that paved the way for liberating Syria’s north from PKK, YPG, as well as Daesh.

Relations between the two, however, thawed after the Feb. 6 earthquakes that killed more than 56,000 people combined in both countries. Turkish officials have recently been floating the idea of cooperating with Damascus on counterterrorism efforts, as well.

The guarantor countries on Wednesday agreed to collaborate "further" to sustainably normalize the situation in the Idlib de-escalation zone, neighboring Türkiye, and strongly rejected the "illegal seizure and transfer of oil revenue that is supposed to belong to Syria," referring to PKK/YPG’s control of oil fields in Hasakah, Raqqa and Deir el-Zour districts.

The joint statement further condemned Israel’s ongoing military attacks on Syria, reiterated the sides’ call for respect to international laws and dismissed Israel’s decisions and steps on the matter as "null and void."

Additionally, the guarantors urged for the ninth Constitutional Committee Draft Commission meeting to take place "immediately if the Syrian side is constructive about it."

Expressing concern about the worsening humanitarian situation in the region in the wake of the earthquakes, the countries also emphasized on the need to ramp up humanitarian aid in line with U.N. Security Council resolutions.

"The guarantor countries must provide the necessary support for the safe and voluntary return of Syrian refugees, as well," the sides said, calling on the international community to help the cause.

The sides agreed to reconvene for the next round of talks in the second half of the year, but longtime host Kazakhstan seems more reluctant to uphold the tradition as it surprisingly proposed ending the process during the meeting.

Kazakhstan has hosted such meetings since 2017, with varying results. One of the biggest moves announced in Astana was the partition of Syrian territories into de-escalation zones overseen by different countries.

But on Wednesday, Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Kanat Tumysh unexpectedly called for the conclusion of trilateral talks, saying their goal had been achieved.

"Syria’s gradual emergence from isolation in the region could be regarded as a sign that the Astana process has completed its task," he told reporters.

"Considering Syria’s return into the Arab (nations) family, we propose officially declaring the 20th meeting under the Astana process as the final one."

"We cannot say that the Astana process is over," Russian negotiator Alexander Lavrentyev said. "... But if the Kazakh side has decided that they need to be moved to a different location, we will discuss that and pick one."

Russia, Türkiye and Iran could, for example, take turns to host those meetings, he said.