Fresh round of Syria peace talks held in Kazakh capital

Delegates from the Syrian government and opposition groups have attended a fresh round of peace negotiations in Astana, Kazakhstan, in a new phase of the diplomatic process mediated by Iran, Russia and Turkey.

According to Press TV, Thursday’s discussions, which were held behind closed doors, are viewed as a warm-up in the run-up to a separate round of UN-led talks on the Syria crisis slated to be held in the Swiss city of Geneva on February 23.

A one-on-one meeting between Syria’s warring sides seemed unlikely, but a plenary session involving all parties was on the agenda.

The Syrian government delegation was represented by its Permanent Representative to the United Nations Bashar al-Ja’afari. 

Opposition spokesman Yehya al-Aridi said on Wednesday the opposition would be led by Mohammad Alloush, a leading figure of the Saudi-backed Jaish al-Islam Takfiri terrorist group.

The Astana negotiations were expected to focus mostly on bolstering a Syria-wide ceasefire that has been in place since December 30, 2016.

UN envoy, Russian FM discuss Syria crisis

In a relevant development on Thursday, UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov exchanged views on the Syrian crisis during a meeting in Moscow.

Lavrov told the UN envoy that he hoped for progress at the upcoming Syria talks in Geneva.

He also hailed De Mistura’s efforts to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2254, which was unanimously adopted in December 2015 to help bring an end to the conflict in Syria.

"We tried to help by agreeing with our Turkish and Iranian colleagues on a ceasefire between the government and the opposition on a large part of the Syrian territory. We also tried to stimulate the process of implementation of resolution 2254 by introducing the political aspect in the meetings which have been held in Astana,” Lavrov said.

The top Russian diplomat further underlined the need for armed opposition groups, who had signed the cessation of hostilities, to join the Syria political negotiations.

He also described Moscow’s introduction of a possible draft constitution for the Arab country as a “stimulation for real genuine talks between all Syrians.”