The 15th International Meeting on Syria within Astana Format started activities on Tuesday in the Russian Sochi Resort at the Black Sea coast.
The delegation representing the Syrian government was headed by Ayman Sousan, Assistant Foreign and Expatriates Minister, SANA news agency reported.
Delegations from the guarantor states of Astana Process are participating in the meeting as they include the Russian delegation, headed by Russian President’s Special Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev and the delegation of the Iranian Islamic Republic, headed by Senior Aide of the Iranian Foreign Minister for Special Political Affairs Ali Asghar Khaji, in addition to the delegation of Turkey.
The participants in the meeting also include representatives of the countries that enjoy the observer status in the Astana process, namely Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan, as well as the United Nations, whose delegation is headed by the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Syria Geir Pedersen.
A representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which provided to host the Astana process, also attended the talks, in addition to representatives of the foreign-backed armed opposition.
Activities of the first day of the two-day meeting began with bilateral and multilateral closed-door talks between different delegations, while the general closing session of the meeting will take place on Wednesday, SANA added.
The 14th meeting of the talks within Astana Format was held in the Kazakh Capital city of Nur-Sultan in December 2019. The 15th meeting was scheduled to be held in March 2020, but it has been delayed several times due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
Source: Agensies
