Astana: The Astana talks which will see negotiations take place between parties involved in the Syrian crisis will take place today behind closed doors, Kazakhistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
It is unclear if the talks need to be extended for a day more. A delegation from the Syrian opposition has already arrived in the Kazakh capital. Delegations from Russia, Turkey, Iran and United Nations special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura also arrived in Astana. The US State Department announced that it will not send a delegation to take part in the Syrian talks, citing "presidential inauguration and the immediate demands of the transition", noting that its envoy to Kazakhstan will represent Washington as an observer.
The talks aim to consolidate the ceasefire in Syria and to develop a framework for a new round of negotiations in Geneva on February 8 in order to resume the political process, which began by a series of meetings Geneva (1-2-3) since June 2012 until February 2016. Astana meeting is the first between the Syrian regime forces and the opposition factions since the declaration of the truce on December 31 under the auspices of the Russia and Turkey.
Fourteen opposition factions will attend talks chaired by chief negotiator of main opposition bloc Mohammad Alloush while Syria's envoy to the UN Bashar Al Jaafari will chair the Assad regime's delegation. Mohammad Alloush called on Russia to withstand pressure from Iran and the Syrian government to help ensure that a ceasefire agreed last month holds, the head of a delegation at peace talks said.
He said a failure by Moscow to end widespread violations of a Turkish-Russian brokered ceasefire would be a blow to its influence in Syria. “It’s a real test of the power of Russia and its influence over the regime and Iran as a guarantor of the deal, so if it fails in this role there will follow bigger failures,” Alloush said.
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