Another round of Syria peace talks begins in Astana
Brokered by Turkey, Russia and Iran, talks will address developments in de-escalation zone, release of captives
ASTANA, Kazakhstan
The ninth round of peace talks aimed at ending the conflict in Syria began in capital Astana on Monday.
Astana is hosting a two-day meeting attended by representatives of Russia, Turkey and Iran -- the guarantor states that brokered a cease-fire in Syria in December 2016.
Latest developments in the de-escalation zone, releases of captives and hostages, and forming a constitutional committee will be on the agenda.
The Turkish delegation is chaired by the deputy undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry, Sedat Onal, while Alexander Lavrentiev, Russian president's special envoy for Syria, leads his delegation; Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari heads the Iranian delegation.
Representatives of the Syrian regime, armed opposition groups, will be joining the main meeting on Tuesday, while the U.S. will not participate in the talks.
UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura is expected to attend the meeting in the afternoon; Jordan would be observing the talks.
Bilateral talks between the delegations started at the Rixos President Hotel. The Iranian delegation held a meeting with the Russian team.
Reporting by Selen Temizer:Writing by Kubra Chohan
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