Russia thinks first day of Astana talks on Syria to be successful - Russia’s chief negotiator

ASTANA, January 23. /TASS/. Moscow thinks the first day of Astana talks on Syria was successful, Russian president’s special envoy on the Syrian settlement Alexander Lavrentyev, who leads the Russian delegation to the Astana talks, said on Monday. "We think that the first day was rather successful. First of all, we opened and held an international meeting on the Syrian settlement," he said. "I believe that it is a notable achievement as the meeting was opened not only in the presence of delegations from the December 29 ceasefire agreement guarantor countries but also in the presence of United Nations special envoy Staffan de Mistura, the United States’ ambassador to Kazakhstan and delegations of the Syrian government and the opposition." "It was a notable and symbolic step that inspires hope that a qualitatively new level of the negotiating process can be reached," he stressed. "Despite the emotionally charged atmosphere at the beginning, the sides managed to demonstrate reasonable approaches and tried to avoid any actions that could wreck this major event," Lavrentyev noted. Read more