Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov said that Russian-Turkish and Russian-Iranian consultations are due to take place on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Astana talks on Syria.

“Today intensive bilateral consultations are due to take place, namely between Russia and Turkey, Russia and Iran,” Abdrakhmanov said.

Earlier in the day, the intra-Syrian peace talks officially kicked off in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.

Meanwhile, a source at the talks told Sputnik that this round can result in a paper on international cooperation in demining Palmyra and preserving its cultural heritage.

Sputnik also learned that a paper on the Organization of Demining of the Historic Part of Palmyra is being worked on at the current consultations.

“Demining of Palmyra is one of the key topics on the agenda. International cooperation on it can take shape,” the source said.

The ancient site of Palmyra is registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The paper that is being considered at the talks proposes joining efforts of the three ceasefire guarantor states — Russia, Turkey and Iran — as well as the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and the United States and Jordan, in coordination with the Syrian authorities, in demining the historic part of the city.

Source: Sputnik