President Assad on factor determining success of Syria peace talks in Astana

"...who's going to be there from the other side? We don't know yet. Is it going to be real Syrian opposition - and when I say "real" it means it has grassroots in Syria, not Saudi one or French one or British one - it should be Syrian opposition to discuss the Syrian issues. So, the viability or, let's say, the success of that conference will depend on that point," President al-Assad said in his remarks to French mass media published by the SANA state news agency.

He also reiterated Damascus' readiness to negotiate ‘on everything' in proposed Astana peace talks.

Earlier President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested holding peace talks in Astana between the conflicting parties to the Syrian conflict. According to Vladimir Putin, this format will complement the Geneva peace talks on Syria.

It should be noted that President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev supported this initiative expressing readiness to provide platform for peace talks in the Kazakh capital. The Astana peace conference is expected to take place on January 23. The Geneva peace negotiations will be held on February 8 under the aegis of UN Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura.