Moscow, Tehran Optimistic about Astana Meeting on Syria

ASTANA-Russia, Iran and Turkey have managed to bring closer their positions on most of the issues on the agenda of the meeting on Syria to be held in Astana on January 23, leader of the Russian delegation to the talks in Astana Alexander Lavrentyev said on Sunday.

“Preparatory work has been rather intensive. Today, we spoke with the Iranian and Turkish sides in a trilateral format and have managed to bring closer our position on most of the issues on the agenda,” he said.

Lavrentyev said he is confident differences at the Astana talks on settlement in Syria will be bridged on Monday.

 “I would prefer to speak not about differences but about common points,” he said. “As for the differences, I am sure they will be overcome tomorrow.”.

Participants in the Astana talks on the Syrian settlement continue to work on a final statement the talks are supposed to yield, Lavrentyev  said.

“Work on the final statement continues,” he clarified.

The United States’ ambassador to Kazakhstan, Goerge Krol, will be present at the intra-Syrian talks in Astana as an observer, Lavrentyev said.

Iran’s delegation to the Astana talks on Syria is also optimistic about them although not all the issues have been settled, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari, who leads Teheran’s delegation to the talks, said on Sunday.

“We are optimistic about the talks,” he said. “However we have failed to settle all the issues.”.

No clarity has yet been reached about possible direct talks between Syria’s government and “armed opposition” in Astana, Hossein Jaberi Ansari said.

Seven parties to Participate in Syrian talks

Meantime, Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry said that participation confirmations for the Syria talks in Astana on January 23-24 have been received from the Syrian government and “armed opposition”, from Russia, Iran, Turkey, the US, and the UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura, on Sunday.

The main objective of the inter-Syrian talks in Astana would be confirming of the agreements on “ceasefire” in Syria of December 29, 2016, sources close to the talks told TASS on Sunday.

“New initiatives are not planned,” a source said. “The key task is to confirm the ceasefire agreements. Preliminary work is under way already.”

“The opposition’s side at the talks will be exclusively representatives of armed groups, who can undertake straight obligations to observe truce,” according to the source.

“Kazakhstan’s capital has been chosen to host the event as a neutral country for all the parties,” Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday

The ministry said earlier, the talks may be over at 13:00 on January 24, and the final news conference is due an hour later.

H.M