Syria: planned peace talks in Astana may be suspended
ASTANA. KAZINFORM - A few Syrian rebel groups say that they are halting preparations for the peace talks planned by Russia and Turkey for later this month in Astana, accusing Syrian government and its allies breaching the cease-fire regime, BBC reported.
"The regime and its allies continued their onslaught and committed many big breaches,"the statement" issued on Monday said. "Given the escalating situation and the continuous breaches, the signatory armed groups declare... Freezing all discussions regarding the Astana negotiations," it said. The groups highlighted fighting in the rebel-held region of Wadi Barada, north-west of Damascus. They say the region has been subjected to almost-daily attacks by Syrian forces and their Hezbollah allies. The rebel groups stated they would quit the truce deal if the Syrian Government try to use it to recapture territories from them.
The peace talks are supposed to begin this month in Astana. On December 31st the UN Security Council unanimously backed Russian-Turkish efforts to end the fighting in Syria and to have peace talks.
The talks in Kazakhstan will be mediated by Russia and Iran, who back the Syrian government, and Turkey, a key supporter of the rebels.
It is expected to be followed by a resumption of UN-brokered talks in Geneva in mid-February. The last round of talks collapsed amid acrimony in April 2016.
The ceasefire deal excludes so-called Islamic State (IS) and the Syrian Kurdish Popular Protection Units (YPG) militia, as well as the JFS, according to the Syrian army.