13th round of Syria talks kicks off in Kazakh capital

A 13th round of talks aimed at finding a political solution to the ongoing conflict in Syria has officially gotten underway in Kazakhstan's capital Nur-Sultan.

Delegations from three guarantor states of the Syria peace process - Iran, Russia and Turkey - along with UN representatives arrived in the city, seeking an end to the eight-year conflict in Syria. 

Observers from Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq were also reportedly joining the talks for the first time.

According to Syria's official news agency SANA, a Syrian government delegation headed by UN Ambassador Bashar al-Ja'afari arrived in Nur-Sultan on Thursday morning to participate in the two-day talks. Representatives of some armed Syrian opposition groups have also confirmed their participation.

On the sidelines, the Syrian government delegation held separate meetings with the Russian president’s special envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev and Ali Asghar Khaji, the Iranian foreign minister’s senior aide for special political affairs, to discuss the latest developments in Syria.

The talks are expected to deal with the situation in Syria in general, and in the northwestern region of Idlib in particular where the foreign-backed terrorist organization of Jabhat al-Nusra controls the majority of the area.

SS