Syrian Opposition Hopes for Russia's Active Involvement in Crisis Settlement

The Syrian opposition hopes for Russia's active involvement in the settlement of the Syrian conflict, Osama Abu Zeid, an opposition delegation member at the Astana peace talks, said Monday.

ASTANA (Sputnik) — The opposition does not reject Russian involvement, he added, stressing that the factions mainly have a problem with Russia's support of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government and Russian military involvement in the Syrian conflict.

"We hope that the Russian government will fully change its approach to the Syrian problem and will become a state which is actively involved in the political settlement," Zeid told reporters.

The talks on Syrian settlement are currently underway in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana and are expected to last through Tuesday. Representatives from the Syrian government and armed opposition factions are participating in the talks brokered by Moscow, Ankara and Tehran. Earlier in the day, government and opposition representatives met face-to-face for the first time since the settlement effort started.

Russia has previously been involved in a number of settlement efforts in the Middle Eastern country. Russia has brokered ceasefires together with the United States, as well as getting involved in negotiating evacuations from east Aleppo, running a reconciliation center at the Hmeymim airbase and taking part in various international meetings on the matter.