Damascus Calls for New Round Intra-Syrian Talks in Moscow

Damascus calls for an urgent new round of intra-Syrian reconciliation negotiations in Moscow, Syria's Ambassador to Russia Riad Haddad said Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Damascus does not expect this week's Syrian opposition talks in Astana to be fruitful, Syria's Ambassador to Russia Riad Haddad said Wednesday.

"What is happening today in Astana is a meeting of opposition groups. Much of the opposition refused to participate, not all [groups] are present," Haddad told RIA Novosti.

"Today we are working to hold a third meeting, because we believe that it would be very useful for our country at this time," Haddad said. "We want to hold it in the near future, without further delay."

Syrian opposition negotiations began in Kazakhstan's capital Astana on Monday.

"We believe the meeting in Astana to be the same as those previously held in Cairo and Istanbul. We as a state do not count on these meetings to have any results," he added.

Some 30 opposition figures gathered in Kazakhstan for a new round of talks to settle the four-year civil war in Syria. Representatives of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government are not present at the negotiations in Astana.