Armed Syrian opposition to attend Astana talks

By Mohamad Misto

ANKARA

A portion of Syria’s armed opposition announced Tuesday they would participate in the third round of the peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana.

They are scheduled to attend Thursday’s talks, opposition sources told Anadolu Agency.

It will include a spokesman and a small technical team whose agenda will be topped by the ongoing ceasefire violations.

The opposition on Saturday had called for the postponement of the negotiations until March 20 because of the breaches.

Opposition delegate Osama Abu Zaid tweeted that the opposition would not attend.

Following the Dec. 30 cease-fire, the first round of Astana talks were held on Jan. 23 and Jan. 24, brokered by Turkey, which backs the opposition, and Russia and Iran, who support the Bashar al-Assad regime. A second round was held in mid-February.

The negotiations continue in parallel with a more formal UN-mediated peace process in Geneva.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests. Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced.