Alwaght- Delegations of six negotiating parties are confirmed to attend Astana talks on Syria as the US ambassador will be present as an observer after Iran opposed Washington's participation.
The delegations of Iran, Russia and Turkey arrived in Astana one day ahead of the formal initiation of the Syria settlement talks.
Participation confirmations have been received from the Syrian government and militants, from Russia, Iran, Turkey, and the UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura, Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
Meanwhile US declared it will not send a delegation to the talks and its ambassador will attend as an observer. The US State Department's acting spokesman Mark Toner said US Ambassador to Kazakhstan, George Krol, would attend the talks as an observer.
He cited immediate demands of the US government transition as the reason for his country’s decision, but many experts believe it may be related to the recent opposition by Iran that apposed US participation due to Washington's continuous support for the militant and terrorist group in Syria.
"The confirmed participants in the talks are - representatives of the Syrian Arab Republic, representatives of the Syrian opposition, representatives of Russia, Turkey, Iran, the U.S., the UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura," Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry said.
The main objective of the inter-Syrian talks in Astana would be confirming of the agreements on ceasefire in Syria of 29 December, 2016, sources close to the talks told TASS on Sunday.
