Syrian Armed Opposition Calling for Mechanisms to Monitor Ceasefire

The Syrian armed opposition is calling on the guarantors of the nationwide ceasefire to implement mechanisms to monitor it, member of the delegation to the talks in Astana Osama Abu Zeid said Monday.

ASTANA (Sputnik) – The Russian-Turkish-Iranian-guaranteed Astana talks kicked off earlier on Monday, with government and opposition representatives holding direct talks for the first time. Earlier in January, the UN envoy confirmed that the talks will be followed by a UN-mediated meeting in Geneva on February 8.

"There is no meaning to go further without a real ceasefire on the ground and that is what we are asking all guarantee sides, the Turkish side and the Russian side … to put real tools and mechanisms to observe the violations," Zeid told reporters.