ASTANA (Sputnik) — The attitude before Astana talks on Syrian settlement is very positive as parties arrived in Kazakhstan after thorough preliminary work, Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov said on Sunday.
"We have a very positive attitude," Abdrakhmanov told Sputnik.
Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov also stated that during the meeting with the UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura they confirmed the importance of the talks in Astana as a step towards Syrian settlement through the Geneva talks under UN auspices.
“Today i had a meeting with the UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura. He extended his gratitude to the president of Kazakhstan for his help in the organization of the Syrian settlement meeting in Astana from the UN general secretary. We have reiterated that the Astana meeting is a step towards the Syrian talks held in Geneva under the UN auspices,” the minister said.
“We consider the Geneva talks the main in the Syrian settlement… This [Astana] part will be another step, I hope a positive step, toward the successful conclusion of the Geneva talks, the platform we consider to be the main one,” Abdrakhmanov added.
The Astana talks on Syrian settlement will start in the hotel Rixos President Astana at 07:00 GMT on January 23 and are expected to end at 07:00 GMT on January 24. The negotiations brokered by Russia, Turkey and Iran will be held behind closed doors.
