Astana Talks: Day 2 to Focus on Separation of Terrorists
Local Editor
The third round of consultations aimed at finding a political solution to the conflict in Syria entered its second day in the Kazakh capital city of Astana.
The main topic of the second day of talks will become the separation of positions of terrorists and ‘moderate' opposition in the country, according to the head of government's delegation Bashar Jaafari, Sputnik news agency reported.
The talks gather the Syrian government and opposition at the negotiating table, with Iran, Russia, and Turkey acting as mediators. Tehran and Moscow are allies with Damascus, while Turkey mediates on behalf of the Syrian armed opposition.
Astana hosted two rounds of the negotiations respectively in January and February. The third bout started on Tuesday and is to carry on through Wednesday.
The first day started with a meeting between the UN and Russian delegations, and continued with more consultations among the representative teams.
The second day is expected to witness a general meeting, with all the participants in attendance.
The militants had earlier boycotted this round of talks, claiming they had to first make sure about Damascus and its allies' adherence to the ceasefire.
On Wednesday, however, Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry said the militants' delegation would come to Astana to attend the talks at night.
Meanwhile, the Russian news agency Interfax cited a representative with the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army [FSA] as saying that the militant group will be sending five officers to the negotiations.
The talks are hoped to positively contribute to a similar process in Geneva brokered by the UN. The Swiss city has so far hosted four rounds of discussions, with the next scheduled for March 23.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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