Syrian National Dialogue Congress set for Jan. 29-30

By Selen Temizer and Muhammed Shekh Yusuf

ASTANA (AA) - A planned Syrian National Dialogue Congress in the Black Sea resort of Sochi will be held on Jan. 29-30, Turkish, Russian and Iranian delegations agreed on Friday.

The decision came during an eighth round of peace talks aimed at ending the Syria conflict. They began on Thursday in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana and ended on Friday.

The delegations also agreed on the release of detainees and mine cleaning in historical sites, according to diplomatic sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.

In a joint statement by Turkey, Russia and Iran, the sides reaffirmed "their strong and continued commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syrian Arab Republic".

They also welcomed "progress in the implementation of the memorandum on the creation of de-escalation areas" in the country.

According to the statement, the Syrian congress will be held in late January "with the participation of all segments of Syrian society".

However, earlier in the day, Turkey vetoed the involvement of the PKK/PYD or any related groups at a planned Sochi gathering.

Turkish authorities have repeatedly said they would reject the presence of any terrorist groups at Syria talks.

During the Astana talks, the Turkish delegation was chaired by the deputy undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry, Sedat Onal, while Alexander Lavrentiev, the Russian president's special envoy for Syria, led his delegation, and Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari led Iran’s.

Representatives of the Syrian regime, armed opposition groups, as well as delegations from the UN, Jordan and the U.S. also participated in the talks.

The delegation of the armed opposition groups said they submitted to the Russian delegation evidence of the Syrian regime's unlawful acts as well as those of the PKK/PYD terrorist organizations.

In a statement, the opposition delegation also said they handled with Turkish side violations of ceasefire in Syria's Idlib.

The next high-level international meeting on Syria in Astana will be held in the second half of February 2018.