Astana Syria peace talks are extended for one more day as representatives of the Syrian armed opposition will meet with the experts from the Syrian ceasefire guarantor states, Kazakhstan announced on Wednesday.
“Tonight we are expecting the arrival of the representatives of the Northern and Southern fronts who will hold consultations with the experts from the guarantor countries tomorrow morning to discuss the ceasefire,” Zhainakov told reporters.
The spokesman added there was no information regarding the participation of the heads of the guarantor states’ delegations in the consultations, but stressed that the experts would “definitely” take part in the meeting, as well as the representatives of the two fronts.
There is no information regarding the final document either, the spokesman said.
“We are now discussing the documents that were mentioned, I can’t say anything regarding the final document,” Zhainakov said.
Parties to the talks on Syria in Astana will make a joint press statement at 2 p.m. local time (08.00 GMT), the Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Anuar Zhainakov said on Wednesday.
“Today at 14.00 [08.00 GMT] there will be a joint press statement with the participation of the heads of delegations of Russia, Iran and Turkey, as well as of Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov,” the spokesman told reporters.
The Russian delegation is headed by the special presidential envoy for Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev.
Iran is represented by Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari, while Turkey is represented by Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Sedat Onal.
The third round of talks on Syrian settlement in the Kazakh capital officially kicked off on Tuesday.
Armed Opposition to Attend
Earlier, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s representative told Sputnik that the third round of the talks is being extended for one day amid Syrian armed opposition arrival, Sputnik quoted the Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s Asia and Africa Department Director General Aidarbek Tumatov as saying.
The Russian agency said that talks participants are expected to discuss differentiation between terrorists and armed groups.
“Tomorrow, on the 16th, the talks will be continued with a military aspect included, which, I think, is important, given the issues of terrorist groups’ location, including that of the ISIL and the Nusra Front Takfiri groups and the location of moderate opposition are expected to be discussed,” Tumatov said.
“After all, the representatives of the [Syrian] opposition are going to arrive in Astana. This evening, seven representatives of the North and South fronts will arrive to hold talks particularly devoted to the military aspect,” Tumatov said.
Source: Sputnik
