ASTANA (Sputnik) – Delegations of Russia, Iran and Turkey that are the guarantors of the Syrian ceasefire are going to meet with Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry officials on Sunday before the start of Astana talks on Syrian peace settlement, a source in the Kazakh Foreign Ministry told Sputnik.
“Only the countries guarantors will participate in the meeting,” the source said.
The Astana talks on Syrian settlement will start in the hotel Rixos President Astana at 07:00 GMT on January 23 and are expected to end at 07:00 GMT on January 24. The negotiations brokered by Russia, Turkey and Iran will be held behind closed doors.
The Syrian opposition groups agreed to attend the talks brokered by Russia, Turkey and Iran as an attempt to end the six-year civil war in the country, which sees government forces fighting against a number of opposition and terrorist groups, including Daesh, which is banned in Russia and many other countries.