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UN Special Envoy De Mistura says he hopes the talks in Astana will create positive momentum leading up to the UN-sponsored talks in Geneva in two weeks [Xinhua]
A number of diplomats and foreign dignitaries participating in the talks, as well as hundreds of journalists, have descended on the city.
UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura said he supports the Astana initiative.
He has dispatched Deputy Special Envoy to Syria Ramzy E. Ramzy, and his political director, Robert Dann, to represent the UN at the talks, brokered by Russia and Turkey and involving Iran as a participant.
A number of Syrian opposition groups will be participating in the talks as well as a senior delegation representing the government of Bashar Al Assad.
The talks were announced in late December following the recapture of Aleppo by the Syrian Army and the declaration of a nationwide ceasefire.
Despite minor infractions, the ceasefire has largely held, the UN confirmed.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed that he had invited the US to participate in the talks.
De Mistura hopes that the Astana peace talks will create positive momentum in the lead up to another round of UN-sponsored Syria peace talks in Geneva on February 8.
In late December, United Nations Security Council Resolution 2336 unanimously endorsed the Russia-Turkish peace initiative and the Astana talks, calling the latter a step toward Geneva.
The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
