Invitation to Astana Talks on Syria to Be Sent to UN Syria Envoy in Near Future

An invitation for the upcoming talks on Syria in Astana will be sent to UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura in the near future, a diplomatic source in Geneva told Sputnik.

GENEVA (Sputnik) – Turkish Foreign MInister Mevlut Cavusoglu said earlier this month that Astana talks would be held on January 23.

"An invitation has not been sent yet, but it will be sent to UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura in the near future," the source said.

The source added that Russia expected Deputy UN Special Envoy for Syria Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy to take part in the event.

After Moscow-Ankara-Tehran negotiations on Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on December 29 that the Syrian government and armed opposition groups had reached an agreement on a nationwide ceasefire in the country and on readiness to start peace talks.

A nationwide ceasefire in Syria was brokered by Russia and Turkey and later approved by the United Nations. The ceasefire deal in Syria has been in effect since December 30. The truce is expected to be followed by peace talks in the Kazakh capital of Astana later this month.