Successful24 Jan 2017 15:49
Russian senator says Astana meeting on settling Syrian crisis proves successful
Russian Politics & Diplomacy January 24, 17:55 UTC+3
The senator also said the participation of the US ambassador to Kazakhstan was "an invitation to cooperate" in finding a solution to the Syrian crisis
The Astana meeting on settling the Syrian crisis has proved to be a success, Head of Russia’s Federation Council (upper house of parliament) Committee for International Affairs Konstantin Kosachev told reporters. According to him, the meeting has paved the way for further negotiations.
"The Astana meeting will facilitate the Geneva talks, this is what it was aimed at. The next round of talks between the Syrian government and the opposition will be held under the United Nations auspices on February 8. The Astana meeting’s participants have welcomed the armed opposition’s intention to join the Geneva talks," Kosachev said. "Of course, this meeting was a success in itself since representatives of the Syrian government and the armed opposition were brought to the negotiating table, besides, Ankara and Tehran took an active part in the meeting as guarantors of the process," the Russian senator stressed.