Delegations from the Syrian government, the Syrian armed opposition and Turkey have arrived in the Kazakh capital of Nur-Sultan for talks on resolving the situation in Syria, Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday, TASS reports.
"The delegations of the Syrian government, the Syrian armed opposition and Turkey have already arrived in Kazakhstan’s capital. The Syrian government delegation is led by Deputy Foreign Minister Ayman Susan, while Ahmed Toma heads the armed opposition’s delegation," the statement reads.
According to the ministry, the delegations of Russia and Iran, as well as representatives of the United Nations and other observers, are expected to arrive tonight and tomorrow morning. "Russia’s delegation is headed by Special Presidential Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev, Turkey’s delegation is led by the Turkish Foreign Ministry’s Director General for Syria Unal Selcuk, and Iran’s delegation is led by Iranian Foreign Minister's Senior Assistant for Special Political Affairs Ali Asghar Khaji. The UN delegation is expected to be headed by Deputy Special Envoy for Syria Khawla Matar," the statement added.
Bilateral and trilateral consultations are planned to be held on the sidelines of the negotiations. Representatives of the three guarantor countries of the Astana process on Syria (Russia, Iran, Turkey), as well as those representing the Syrian government and opposition, are slated to meet with the media following the talks.
The international meeting on Syria, scheduled to take place in Nur-Sultan on December 21-22, will involve the delegations of Russia, Turkey, Iran, the Syrian government and armed opposition. Officials from the UN, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq are expected to participate as observers. The parties will discuss prospects for the activities of the Syrian Constitutional Committee in Geneva, the current situation in Syria and the need to maintain calm in de-escalation zones based on the agreements that were reached during the Astana process earlier. A working group on forcibly detained persons will also meet during the talks, its meeting will involve the guarantor counties, as well as the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
