Syria’s Opposition NCC Not Invited to Take Part in Astana Talks – NCC Head

The Syria’s opposition National Coordination Committee for the Forces of Democratic Change (NCC) was not invited to participate in the intra-Syrian negotiations in Astana, NCC leader Hassan Abdel Azim told Sputnik.

BEIRUT (Sputnik) – Azim said that the NCC welcomes the meeting in Astana.

“If we are invited we will discuss the issue with interest … We welcomed the meeting in Astana and knew that armed groups and the Syrian army would be proposed to discuss the ceasefire,” Abdel Azim said.

On December 17, 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed in a phone call the possibility of a meeting between the Syrian conflicting parties in Astana. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev supported the initiative and expressed readiness to provide a platform for such talks in the Kazakh capital.

Since 2011, Syria has been engulfed in a civil war, with government forces fighting against numerous opposition and terrorist groups, including Daesh and Jabhat Fatah al Sham, which are banned in a range of countries, including Russia.

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