Erdoğan named prospective participants of Syria talks in Astana
Earlier, President of Russia Vladimir Putin stated that he and Erdoğan had agreed to offer the conflicting parties in Syria to continue peaceful negotiations in Astana. In his words, the new platform may replenish the talks in Geneva.
In a telephone conversation with Putin and Erdoğan, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev backed this initiative and stated that Kazakhstan was ready to provide a platform for such negotiations in its capital city.
“We support this initiative. This issue is being discussed now at the level of the Foreign Affairs Ministry. The representatives of Syria’s moderate opposition as well as the representatives of Russia, Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Qatar can be invited to the event. The participation of Qatar and Saudi Arabia in Astana talks is important for Turkey. We do not back the idea of inviting representatives of terrorist organizations to Kazakhstan,” said Erdoğan at a press conference in Ankara.
The Turkish President stressed ineffectiveness of intra-Syrian talks in Geneva. In his opinion, Putin put forward the initiative to hold the international Syria negotiations in Astana due to ‘failed Geneva process.’