Turkish Official Discusses 'Need to Respect the Truce' With Syrian Rebels

Turkish Foreign Undersecretary Umit Yalcin and Syrian opposition members held talks in Ankara, during which they discussed political settlement in Syria, a diplomatic source told Sputnik Friday.

ANKARA (Sputnik) — The source noted that the sides had discussed "the need to respect the truce" as well as an action plan in the framework of the tripartite mechanism to monitor cessation of hostilities in Syria.

"Our Foreign Ministry undersecretary met in Ankara on February 3 with representatives of the Syrian opposition’s military and political wing, including the High Negotiations Committee’s chief Riyad Hijab, and the opposition delegation members, who participated in negotiations in Astana," the source said.

The sides agreed that political settlement in Syria should be carried out in three phases: a political transition, a new constitution, and elections, according to the source.

Russia and Turkey are guarantors of a nationwide Syrian ceasefire that came into force on December 30, and has been holding up in general, despite continued reports of violations. The UN Security Council passed a resolution in December supporting the effort.

The establishment of the truce between the government and opposition groups was followed by intra-Syrian peace talks in the Kazakh capital of Astana on January 23-24.

The next round of UN-mediated talks in Geneva was expected to take place on February 8. On January 27, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the United Nations had decided to postpone the negotiations until the end of February.