All parties to talks on Syria in Nur-Sultan confirm participation - MFA
«Under the coordination of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, preparations for the 13th International High-Level Meeting on Syria in Nur-Sultan scheduled for August 1-2 of this year are now well underway. At the moment, all the previously invited parties have confirmed their participation,» the statement says.
Russia’s delegation will be led by the Russian President's Special Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev. Turkey will be represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Önal. The delegation of Iran will be led by Ali Asghar Haji, Senior Assistant Foreign Minister of Iran on Political Issues.
In addition, in attendance will be both parties to the conflict in Syria: the government delegation led by Bashar Jaafari, Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the UN, and the armed opposition led by Ahmad Tu'mah.
It should be mentioned that the upcoming meeting will be marked by the participation of delegations of Iraq and Lebanon as observers. The respective decision was taken following the previous Astana-format meeting.
«We regret to state that for health reasons Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria Geir O. Pedersen, will have to miss the upcoming talks. The UN delegation will be led by his deputy,» the Kazakh MFA says.
Besides, representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees will arrive in Nur-Sultan to participate in the regular session of the Working Group on the Release of Detainees/Hostages on the margins of inter-Syrian talks.
In a similar way to the previous meetings, there will be bilateral and multilateral technical consultations behind closed doors on the first day and a plenary session the next day. The key outcomes of the two-day talks will be outlined in the Joint Statement of the Astana process guarantor states.