Kazakhstan Expects UN Special Envoy To Attend Next Astana Talks In Oct - Foreign Ministry

Kazakhstan expects that UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen will participate in the next Astana format talks, which are due to take place in October, Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vassilenko said on Monday

NUR-SULTAN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd September, 2019) Kazakhstan expects that UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen will participate in the next Astana format talks, which are due to take place in October, Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vassilenko said on Monday.

Pedersen was unable to attend the latest round of Astana talks, which was held in the Kazakh capital of Nur-Sultan from August 1-2, due to health concerns. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the next round of the Astana format consultations would be held in Nur-Sultan in October.

"We expect that Pedersen will attend [the talks in October]," Vassilenko said.

The deputy foreign minister added that he was not aware when exactly the next talks would be and that the date would be decided upon by the three guarantor states of Syria's ceasefire agreement � Russia, Turkey and Iran � as well as by the government and opposition of the middle Eastern country.

On Friday, Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that an Astana format ministerial meeting on Syria may happen on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, which is in session until next Monday.

The civil conflict in Syria has been ongoing since 2011 between President Bashar Assad's government and various opposition groups and terrorist organizations. In May 2017, the warring parties held talks in the Kazakh capital under the mediation of Russia, Iran and Turkey, and managed to conclude a ceasefire agreement and establish four de-escalation zones. Although in some parts of Syrian military operations continue, the priority is now given to political settlement and return of refugees.