Astana talks: Tehran against US participation in Syria talks in Astana
22:38, 17 January 2017
ASTANA. KAZINFORM Tehran opposes a US presence in Syria peace talks scheduled on January 23 in Astana, Iranian Tasnim news agency reports citing country's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif.
"We have not invited them, and we are against their presence", - he added the head of the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
Earlier, heads of Russia and Turkey agreed to propose Astana as a new platform for negotiations to the conflicting parties of Syria. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, this meeting can complement the Geneva process. In turn, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev backed this initiative.
Astana peace talks are scheduled on January 23. As for the Geneva peace talks on Syria United Nations Syria mediator Staffan de Mistura intends to convene them on February 8.