The first working day of international negotiations on Syria in Astana started with consultations between the Russian delegation and the Syrian government’s delegation, TASS reported from the venue.
The Russian delegation is led by Special Presidential Representative for the Syrian Settlement Alexander Lavrentyev, and the Damascus delegation is led by Syria’s Permanent Representative to the UN Bashar Jaafari. The meeting is expected to focus on the creation of a demilitarized zone in the Idlib area and the establishment of Syria’s constitutional committee.
On the sidelines of the meeting on Tuesday, Special Assistant to Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari, who heads Iran’s delegation at Syrian peace talks, met and held talks with Syria's permanent representative to the UN Bashar Jaafari, who represents Damascus at the talks, Mehr News reported.
Jaberi Ansari also held talks with Russian president's Special Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev ahead of the peace talks.
The 9th round of Astana peace talks will be held on Wednesday after a six-month recess, aimed at conferring on ceasefire in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, efforts to establish a constitutional committee that will rewrite the country’s constitution and the release of prisoners.
The meeting is expected to be attended by the guarantor countries – Iran, Russia, Turkey, the Syrian government, and the Syrian military opposition. UN and Jordan were also invited to the meeting as observers.