Syria opposition group to arrive for Astana peace talks

By Aliia Raimbekova and Selen Temizer

ASTANA, Kazakhstan (AA) - A portion of Syria’s armed opposition will arrive in Astana on Wednesday to participate in the third round of peace talks, according to a Kazak official.

The talks, which will focus on the cease-fire that came into effect Dec. 30, have been brokered by Turkey, which backs the opposition, and Russia and Iran, who support Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry spokesman Anuar Zhainakov confirmed that Syrian armed opposition from the northern and southern fronts are expected to arrive in the capital Astana late Wednesday.

"Tomorrow [Thursday], they will hold talks with the experts of guarantor countries [Russia, Turkey and Iran] on the implementation of the cease-fire," Zhainakov told reporters.

The opposition on Saturday called for the postponement of the negotiations until March 20 due to cease-fire breaches. Opposition delegate Osama Abu Zaid tweeted that the opposition would not attend.

However, a portion of the armed opposition announced Tuesday that they would participate.

Zhainakov said Kazakhstan’s foreign minister, Kairat Abdrakhmanov, will address the media following Wednesday’s talks.

The Turkish delegation is led by Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Sedat Onal while Special Envoy Alexander Lavrentiev leads the Russian team and Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari heads Iranian delegation.

Following the Dec. 30 cease-fire, the first round of Astana talks were held on Jan. 23 and Jan. 24.

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 United Nations.