Russian Delegation in Astana Ends 2-Hour Meeting With Syrian Armed Opposition

Russia's delegation to the Astana talks on Syrian settlement, led by Special Presidential Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev, has ended the meeting with the Syrian armed opposition delegation, headed by Free Syrian Army Chief of Staff Ahmed Berri, a Sputnik correspondent reported Wednesday.

ASTANA (Sputnik) — The meeting lasted for over two hours.

In a briefing on the results of the first day of negotiations on Tuesday, Lavrentyev said Russian officials would like to hear from the opposition their proposals on the implementation of deescalation zones and reaching an agreement with the Syrian government.

The plenary session is expected to start shortly.

The fifth international meeting on Syria in Astana takes place on July 4-5, and brings together the delegations from the three guarantor states — Russia, Iran and Turkey — as well as the Syrian sides and the United Nations teams. Jordan and the United States act as observers.