New round of multi-nation talks on Syria to be held in Kazakhstan

Iran, Turkey and Russia, as well as representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition will join the 13th round of talks on Syria on Thursday and Friday, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

Smoke billows above buildings during an air strike in Syria's Idlib province on July 19, 2019. [File photo: AFP via VCG/Omar Haj Kadour]

"At the moment, all previously invited parties have confirmed their participation," the ministry said in a statement.

Iraq and Lebanon will send delegations as observers, the statement said.

UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen will miss the talks for health reasons, so the UN delegation will be headed by his deputy, it said.

Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees will also come to Nur-Sultan to attend a sideline meeting on the release of detainees and hostages in Syria.

As was the case in the previous rounds, bilateral and multilateral technical consultations will be held behind closed doors on the first day, and a plenary session will be held the next day.

The main results of the two-day talks will be made public in a joint statement, the ministry said.

The process toward a peaceful settlement in Syria, also known as the Astana process, was launched in January 2017 by Russia, Iran and Turkey in Astana, later renamed Nur-Sultan, to bring warring parties in the Syrian conflict to the table to find a political solution to the crisis.