“The delegations are arriving today to participate in the next round of the Astana process for resolving the situation in Syria,” he said.
On Tuesday, the city will host another two-day meeting attended by representatives from Russia, Turkey and Iran.
“For now, I cannot tell you who else will attend the talks,” Abdrakhmanov said. “We are waiting confirmation from other participants.”
The Syrian opposition on Saturday called for the postponement of the negotiations until March 20 because of ceasefire violations. Opposition delegate Osama Abu Zaid tweeted that the opposition would not attend.
The Kazakh Foreign Ministry also sent invitations to the UN, the US and Jordan. Abdrakhmanov said Jordan’s presence would ensure the opposition’s participation.
He added: “The format and the agenda of the talks depend on the guarantor countries -- Russia, Turkey, and Iran.”
Mevlut Cavusoglu and Sergey Lavrov, the foreign ministers of Turkey and Russia respectively, spoke by telephone Monday about the talks, Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
They discussed preparations for the meeting and the implementation of agreements to maintain the ceasefire, as well as the establishment of the “successful” inter-Syrian negotiations.
Following the Dec. 30 cease-fire, the first round of Astana talks were held on Jan. 23 and 24, brokered by Turkey, which backs the opposition, and Russia and Iran, who support Assad regime.
التعليقات (0)