UPDATES WITH PHONE CALL OF TURKISH, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS, EDITS THROUGHOUT
By Aliia Raimbekova
ASTANA, Kazakhstan (AA) – Participants arrived in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana on Monday for the third round of Syrian peace talks, Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov said.
“The delegations are arriving today to participate in the next round of the Astana process for resolving the situation in Syria,” he said.
On Tuesday, the city will host another two-day meeting attended by representatives from Russia, Turkey and Iran.
“For now, I cannot tell you who else will attend the talks,” Abdrakhmanov said. “We are waiting confirmation from other participants.”
The Syrian opposition on Saturday called for the postponement of the negotiations until March 20 because of cease-fire violations. Opposition delegate Osama Abu Zaid tweeted that the opposition would not attend.
The Foreign Ministry also sent invitations to the UN, the U.S. and Jordan. Abdrakhmanov said Jordan’s presence would ensure the opposition’s participation.
He added: “The format and the agenda of the talks depend on the guarantor countries — Russia, Turkey, and Iran.”
Mevlut Cavusoglu and Sergey Lavrov, the foreign ministers of Turkey and Russia respectively, spoke by telephone Monday about the talks, Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
They discussed preparations for the meeting and the implementation of agreements to maintain the cease-fire, as well as the establishment of the “successful” inter-Syrian negotiations.
Following the Dec. 30 cease-fire, the first round of Astana talks were held on Jan. 23 and 24, brokered by Turkey, which backs the opposition, and Russia and Iran, who support Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests. Since then, more than 250,000 people have been killed and in excess of 10 million displaced, according to the UN.
* Diyar Guldogan contributed to this article from Ankara.
