Delegation of opposition factions to attend next week's meeting but others, including Ahrar al-Sham, will not join in.

Some of the armed Syrian opposition groups have decided to attend peace talks with the government next week in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, according to rebel officials.

The discussions, scheduled for January 23, intend to build on a nationwide ceasefire that has largely held despite escalating violence across several battlefronts in recent days.

Mohammad Alloush, a leading figure in the Jaish al-Islam group, said on Monday he would head the rebel delegation to the meeting. He said the rebels were going to the talks to "neutralise the criminal role" of Iran in Syria's conflict.

"All the rebel groups are going (to Astana). Everyone has agreed," Alloush told AFP news agency.



"Astana is a process to end the bloodletting by the regime and its allies. We want to end this series of crimes."

The rebel factions' decision to send a delegation to the Astana talks came after five days of negotiations in Turkey's capital, Ankara. The High Negotiations Committee, Syria's main opposition bloc, had also said previously that it would extend its support to an anti-government military delegation attending the talks.

But opposition news website Shaam Network reported on Monday that a number of other rebel groups, including Ahrar al-Sham, one of the main fighting forces on the ground, had decided to stay away from the upcoming talks.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has already said his government is ready to attend the Astana meeting and "discuss everything".

Yet, the participating factions said on Monday the talks will only focus on reinforcing the current truce and look at humanitarian issues - but a possible political solution to the crisis will not be on the agenda.

Zakaria Malahifji, of the Fastaqim rebel group, said: "The majority of the groups decided to attend. Discussions will be on the ceasefire [and] the humanitarian issues - aid deliveries, release of detainees."

The Astana meeting is organised by Russia and Turkey - two countries that have backed opposing sides of Syria's conflict for years but have worked closely in recent weeks to end the bloodshed.

An official in a Free Syrian Army rebel group that agreed to participate in the talks told Reuters news agency on Monday the meeting would "be a test for the Russians as the guarantor". He declined to be identified because the rebel groups had yet to appoint a spokesman.

If the Astana meetings are successful, they could bode well for fresh United Nations-hosted negotiations on the conflict next month in Switzerland's Geneva.

Several rounds of peace talks held by the UN have failed to produce a political solution to the conflict.

READ MORE: Civilian deaths reported in shelling near Syria's Damascus

The truce, which began in Syria on December 30 to pave the way for the new peace talks, excludes the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, which changed its name from al-Nusra Front after breaking ties with al-Qaeda last year.

Russia, Assad's most powerful ally, set the new diplomatic effort in motion after Syrian rebels suffered a major defeat last month by losing the rebel-held districts of eastern Aleppo.

Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkey's foreign minister said on Saturday that Ankara and Moscow had decided to invite the United States to attend the Astana meeting. A Kremlin spokesman did not confirm that on Monday.

As with last year's peace talks, powerful Kurdish groups that control wide areas of northern Syria are being excluded from the talks in line with the wishes of Turkey.

Syria has been ravaged by violence since widespread protests in March 2011 calling for Assad's ouster.

More than 310,000 people have been killed and over half the population has been forced to flee. </s> President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev on Monday expressed readiness to host Syrian peace talks in Astana.

“The Astana process will be in addition to the United Nations process. Turkey, Russia and İran will be guarantor countries, but the Syrian regime and opposition will negotiate,” Ibrahim Kalın said at a press conference in Ankara as quoted by website Turkish Minute.

The spokesman added that Turkey is advocating that the ceasefire in Aleppo to be implemented throughout Syria.

The opposition and Damascus, along with the mediators, have been engaged in UN-brokered settlement talks. The last round of intra-Syrian talks took place in Geneva in April. The Syrian High Negotiations Committee opposition group walked out of the negotiations, citing the continuous fighting in Syria and the lack of progress on humanitarian issues. </s> Opposition returns to talks in Astana, Kazakhstan after walking out on Wednesday over air strikes in Syria.

The presidents of Russia and Turkey are pushing for the creation of safe-zones in war-torn Syria as talks were expected to resume on Thursday in Kazakhstan between the government and the opposition.

Meeting in the Russian resort town of Sochi, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin expressed hope on Wednesday that the Syrian government and the opposition would adopt this latest proposal to "de-escalate" the conflict, which has run now for six years and claimed some 400,000 lives.

"We both proceed on the basis that - and this is our common position - the creation of safe zones should lead to further pacification and cessation of hostilities," said Putin.

Turkey and Russia are deeply entangled in the war in Syria, including each having troops on the ground - Ankara supporting various Syrian opposition factions and Moscow backing President Bashar al-Assad's forces.

READ MORE: Trump, Putin 'seek Syria ceasefire' in first conversation

The opposition suspended its participation at the talks in Astana, the Kazakh capital, on Wednesday in protest of air attacks that hit areas under their control in Syria, demanding a halt to the government's bombardment.

The Syrian armed opposition returned to the talks on Thursday, the RIA news agency reported.

Russian representatives had presented the rebels with a proposal for four "de-escalation zones" in Syria where the warring sides would be separated by "security lines".

"About terrorists, in spite of the creation of these zones, the war on terror will be ongoing - against such organisations as so-called Islamic State [ISIL], Jabhat al-Nusra, and those ones that are put on the list of terrorist organisations approved by the United Nations," Putin said.

Putin also said Russian and Syrian government jets would halt flights over the specified zones if all sides respect the ceasefire.

The proposal presented to the opposition in Astana delineates four zones in Syria where front lines between the government and opposition forces would be frozen and fighting halted, according to a statement made by the opposition.

The four zones include areas in the provinces of Idlib and Homs, the Eastern Ghouta suburb outside Damascus, and an area in the south of the country.

The zones, according to the proposal, would be monitored by international observers and allow for the voluntary return of refugees.

"We won't admit the emergence on our southern borders of enemy enclaves that would endanger our territorial integrity and security," Erdogan said.

Late Wednesday, Syria's foreign ministry said Damascus is "fully backing" the Russian initiative on the four ceasefire areas, according to the state-run SANA news agency.

But Ahmed Ramadan, an opposition representative, told The Associated Press that the opposition had requested a written answer on a number of questions, including why the ceasefire would only be in effect in the four areas instead of a nationwide truce.

This is the fourth round of talks in Astana since January. Separately, there have been five rounds of UN-sponsored Syria peace talks in Geneva since 2012, but none have led to a sustainable ceasefire.

Later on Wednesday, Staffan de Mistura, the UN special envoy for Syria, called on the opposition to return to the talks in Astana "because what is important is also to look at the possibility of an outcome on a de-escalation". He stressed the importance of not destroying "the opportunity of good news" related to this issue. </s> ASTANA, Kazakhstan (AP) — Russia, Iran and Turkey — sponsors of talks in Kazakhstan between Syria and rebel factions — pledged Tuesday to consolidate the country’s nearly month-old cease-fire and set up a three-way mechanism to ensure compliance of all sides.

At the conclusion of the two-day conference on Syria’s nearly six-year war in Astana, the three countries said they will use their “influence” to strengthen the truce, without specifying how that would work.

The statement signed by the three sponsors also says the agreement in Astana paves the way for political talks to be held in Geneva on Feb. 8, and welcomed the rebel groups’ participation in the U.N. sponsored talks.

Russia, an ally of the Syrian government, and Turkey, a supporter of the opposition, had negotiated the shaky Dec. 30 cease-fire. Iran, supporter of the government, had approved it. The cease-fire greatly reduced the violence in Syria. But violations continued and the Syrian opposition and the government and its allies exchanged blame.

Kazakhstan’s foreign minister, Kairat Abdrakhmanov, read out the final statement at the end of the meeting, which briefly brought the warring parties together in a face-to-face meeting. But the talks were largely indirect, mediated by the United Nations envoy.

The meeting’s final statement said the three countries “will seek through concrete steps and using the influence of the parties the consolidation the cease-fire” and agreed “to establish a trilateral mechanism to observe and ensure full compliance with the cease fire, prevent any provocations and determine all modalities of the ceasefire.”

The statement said the three nations will continue their joint efforts in fighting the extremist Islamic State group and the al-Qaida affiliate in Syria. They called on the opposition to separate themselves from an al-Qaida-affiliate in Syria, a sticky point that has previously been the reason for the failure of previous cease-fire. The rebel groups have formed close links with the group, known as Fatah al-Sham Front, on the ground. Tough fighters, Fatah al-Sham is excluded from the cease-fire according to the government, but the rebels say the truce should include all of Syria.

Astana featured a brief face-to-face meeting between the government and rebel representatives — their first since the Syrian war began in 2011 — that was quickly followed by harsh exchanges.

After the final statement and in a briefing with journalists, the Syrian government delegate to the talks said the conference succeeded in consolidating the cease-fire in the war ravaged country.

Bashar al-Ja’afari, Syria’s U.N. ambassador who is leading the government delegation to the talks in Astana, said his government did all it could to “remove obstacles” facing the talks in Astana.

Shortly before him, an opposition representative Osama Abo Zayd said the rebels had reservations about the final statement because Iran, which fights alongside the government, should not be considered a sponsor of the talks, but a party to the conflict. </s> AMMAN — Syrian rebel negotiator Mohammad Alloush said on Monday he would head the rebel delegation to the peace talks backed by Russia and Turkey in Kazakhastan, saying this was to “neutralize the criminal role “ of Iran in the Syrian conflict.

Alloush, a former senior negotiator with the Higher Negotiations Committee during past rounds of UN-sponsored peace talks in Geneva, said their participation was needed to hold back Iran’s militias fighting in Syria.

The talks, beginning on Jan. 23 in the Kazakh capital Astana, are set to build on a nationwide truce that has largely held despite escalating violence across several battlefronts in recent days.

If the Astana meetings are successful, they could augur well for fresh UN-hosted negotiations on the conflict next month in Geneva. “All the rebel groups are going (to Astana). Everyone has agreed,” said Alloush.

“Astana is a process to end the bloodletting by the regime and its allies. We want to end this series of crimes,” he said.

Ahmad Al-Othman from the Sultan Murad faction also told AFP that “the rebel groups have decided to go to the talks.”

Sources from the opposition and the regime said the talks would “probably” be face-to-face.

Several rounds of peace talks held by the United Nations have failed to produce a political solution to the conflict.

Ahmad Ramadan, from the leading National Coalition opposition group, said the Astana talks would aim to reinforce the truce “while the details of the political process will be left to Geneva.”

“Despite all the truce violations, what pushed us to agree to attend was the fact that the agenda will be focused on the ceasefire only,” said Osama Abu Zeid, a legal adviser to rebel groups.

The opposition’s delegation to Astana “will be only military,” but would be consulting with “a team of legal and political advisers” from the High Negotiations Committee, he said.

The HNC is the main umbrella group for Syria’s opposition factions, negotiating on their behalf last year in Geneva.

US President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has been invited to take part, but has not yet officially responded.

More than 310,000 people have been killed and millions have fled their homes since protests erupted against Assad’s rule in the spring of 2011.

Over the years, the conflict has also witnessed the rise to prominence of terror groups like Daesh.

Daesh on Monday pressed their brutal offensive around the key eastern city of Deir Ezzor.

“IS (Daesh) has resorted to heavy use of infiltrators and on huge reinforcements from Raqa and western parts of Deir Ezzor province,” the source said.

Around 200,000 people live in Deir Ezzor city, which has been besieged by Daesh since early 2015 and is the capital of the oil-rich province of the same name. </s> Boost for talks backed by Russia and Turkey as opposition groups consent to send delegation to press for ceasefire

The Syrian opposition says it will attend peace talks sponsored by Turkey and Russia in Kazakhstan next week, in a key step in the latest attempt to end the six-year civil war in Syria.

It is set to decide the makeup of its delegation on Monday. The negotiations in Astana will bring together representatives of the opposition and the regime of Bashar al-Assad, as well Russia, Turkey and Iran. Donald Trump’s incoming administration has also been invited.

The talks, which are expected to begin on 23 January, come weeks into a ceasefire negotiated by Ankara and Moscow that has largely held across the country. The opposition’s High Negotiations Committee said it would back the talks, and Mohammed Alloush, its lead negotiator, confirmed that a delegation would be attending.

Syria ceasefire appears to hold after rivals sign Russia-backed deal Read more

“All the rebel groups are going to Astana. Everyone has agreed,” said Alloush, a leading figure in the Jaish al-Islam rebel group, in an interview with AFP. “Astana is a process to end the bloodletting by the regime and its allies. We want to end this series of crimes.”

A senior Turkish official said the opposition was committed to the talks. “As we get ready for the Astana talks, we are trying our best to make sure that the ceasefire holds, and so we’re talking to the Russians to keep the regime in check, because most of the violations so far have been made by the regime in certain parts of Syria,” said İbrahim Kalın, a spokesman for the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. “But we are also talking to the opposition to remain committed to the Astana process, and they’ve been very helpful and cooperative so far.”

The talks are the first serious effort in months to put a stop to the carnage in Syria, which has killed nearly half a million people, displaced half its population and left much of the country in ruins.

Russia, whose intervention was crucial in rescuing the Assad regime and turning the tide of the war in its favour, and Turkey, a stalwart backer of the opposition, normalised their relations last summer. That rapprochement bore fruit in December when the two nations brokered a ceasefire in the city of Aleppo, allowing the evacuation of tens of thousands of civilians who were besieged in a shrinking patch of rebel-held territory.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Mohammed Alloush. Photograph: Denis Balibouse/Reuters

Now both are pushing the peace talks, with Moscow working to anchor its position as a global superpower and limit the costs of its intervention in the war, and Ankara hoping to stem an influx of refugees, 2 million of whom have fled to Turkey.

The opposition’s participation is a boost to the talks, but key issues remain that could derail them, including disagreements over the future of Assad, the shape of a transitional government, and rivalries within both camps – particularly the competing interests of Russia and the other key backer of the Syrian regime, Iran.

Although the talks are being launched without any preconditions, the rebels are keen to demand that Assad is ousted, and that a transitional government is appointed, a key sticking point that Assad’s representatives will not agree to without significant pressure. The regime has been emboldened by recent battlefield victories that have left the opposition without any major urban centres under its control.

“Our position on Assad is clear,” said Kalin. “We don’t believe that a united, peaceful Syria will be possible with Assad remaining in power. But as I said, we will see how Astana talks go. We want to go step by step at this point.”

Osama Abu Zeid, an opposition negotiator and a legal adviser to the Free Syrian Army, told the Guardian the talks in Astana had a limited aim – to ensure that the ceasefire continues.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Osama Abu Zaid, a spokesman for the Free Syrian Army rebel alliance. Photograph: Umit Bektas/Reuters

“The participation in Astana is supported by all the factions and the High Negotiations Committee, and we want through it to reaffirm the ceasefire,” he said. “We decided to go to Astana primarily to reaffirm the ceasefire after the Russians promised to look into practical ways to enforce it.”

He added: “There won’t be political negotiations, so we have created a military delegation [for the Astana talks].”

Abu Zeid said the first round of talks would be short and will help determine whether the Russians were serious about putting a halt to all the fighting in the country, particularly in areas besieged by the Assad regime. If the first round succeeds, the opposition was prepared to proceed to a second round of discussions, he said.

Some rebel groups have refused to attend the talks, saying they do not believe the Russians are honest brokers.

“We have decided not to attend these negotiations because we still doubt the seriousness of the Russians and their ability to instil an atmosphere conducive to a political solution,” said Bassam Mustafa, a member of the political office of Noureddine al-Zinki, a rebel group influential in Aleppo and its countryside, who cited numerous ceasefire violations by the regime and its allied militias.

Still, sources with knowledge of the negotiations have said they could not have succeeded without Moscow’s dogged insistence in the face of objections by Tehran, which appears to be less willing to compromise on Assad’s fate.

A source with knowledge of the Aleppo negotiations in December said the Russians often worked around the clock to ensure their success, and made sure that fighters leaving the city in private cars during the evacuation were not hindered. Their intervention prevented a final assault by the regime and its militias on the rebel enclave, the source added.

Iran repopulates Syria with Shia Muslims to help tighten regime's control Read more

Meanwhile, the Iranians raised additional issues to derail the evacuation, presenting what one rebel official at the time described as a “Christmas list” of demands that included the full evacuation of two Shia villages besieged by fighters linked to al-Qaida.

“This perennial ambiguity of the Iranians always pops up in these talks and negotiations,” said one official. “The Russians I think are more pragmatic when it comes to the future of Assad. Iranians seem to have a more ideological commitment to him staying.”

Tehran has deployed thousands of Shia militia fighters from Iran, Iraq and Lebanon in an effort to shore up the regime and to maintain a supply route through the country and into neighboring Lebanon, where Iran’s proxy Hezbollah holds sway. Much of the rhetoric of the militias’ leaders in publicly available recordings has sectarian undertones, and the Islamic Republic is seeking to cement its influence in a regional tussle with its Sunni rivals, Saudi Arabia and its allies.

The Iranians have also been accused of abetting demographic change in Syria, reportedly clearing areas reclaimed by the regime from their Sunni inhabitants and settling Shia residents there instead. </s> The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution supporting efforts by Russia and Turkey to end the nearly six-year conflict in Syria and jump-start peace negotiations.

The resolution approved Saturday afternoon also calls for the "rapid, safe and unhindered" delivery of humanitarian aid throughout Syria. And it anticipates a meeting of the Syrian government and opposition representative in Kazakhstan's capital Astana in late January.

The resolution's final text dropped an endorsement of the Syria cease-fire agreement reached Thursday, as Western members of the council sought changes to the circulated draft resolution to clarify the U.N.'s role and the meaning of the agreement brokered by Moscow and Ankara.

Meanwhile on the ground in Syria, rebels warned on Saturday that cease-fire violations by pro-government forces threatened to undermine a two-day-old agreement intended to pave the way for talks between the government and the opposition in the new year.

Airstrikes pounded opposition-held villages and towns in the strategically-important Barada Valley outside Damascus, activists said, prompting rebels to threaten to withdraw their compliance with a nationwide truce brokered by Russia and Turkey last week.

Rebels also accused the government of signing a different version of the agreement to the one they signed in the Turkish capital of Ankara, further complicating the latest diplomatic efforts to bring an end to six years of war.

Nearly 50,000 people died in the conflict in 2016, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which maintains networks of contacts on all sides of the war. More than 13,000 of them were civilians, according to the Observatory. Various estimates have put the war's overall toll at around 400,000 dead.

If the truce holds, the government and the opposition will be expected to meet for talks for the first time in nearly a year in the Kazakh capital of Astana in the second half of January. Those talks will be mediated by Russia, Turkey, and Iran.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem and Major General Ali Mamlouk, head of the National Security Bureau, were in Tehran Saturday to discuss developments with their Iranian counterparts, according to Iranian state media. They met with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

The Kremlin meanwhile said Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani confirmed their commitment to negotiations in Astana, in a phone conversation between the two leaders.

Iran and Russia have provided crucial military and diplomatic support to Syrian President Bashar Assad throughout the conflict, while Turkey has served as a rear base and source of supplies for the opposition.

The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to meet at 11 a.m. EST (1600 GMT) to vote on a resolution to endorse the cease-fire and the Astana talks, in line with previous agreements mandating a transitional government for Syria.

The resolution also calls for "rapid, safe and unhindered" access to deliver humanitarian aid throughout the country.

The developments follow months of talks between Ankara and Moscow that culminated in a cease-fire agreement that went into effect Friday at midnight.

But in a statement issued by a coalition of 11 rebel factions, including the powerful Army of Islam group operating in the Damascus countryside, rebels said they could not abide by the cease-fire if the government continued its assault on Barada Valley.

The statement also complained that the government's version of the agreement signed in Ankara last week had deleted "a number of essential and non-negotiable points."

It said the opposition had agreed to a cease-fire encompassing the whole of Syria, without any exceptions to region or faction.

The Barada Valley Media Center said Lebanese Hezbollah militants were firing on villages and towns in the water-rich region as Russian and government aircraft carried out raids for the 10th consecutive day Saturday. The Lebanese militant group is a key ally to President Assad's forces.

The Barada Valley is the primary source of water for the capital and its surrounding region. The government assault has coincided with a severe water shortage in Damascus since Dec. 22. Images from the valley's Media Center indicate its Ain al-Fijeh spring and water processing facility have been destroyed in airstrikes. The government says rebels spoiled the water source with diesel fuel, forcing it to cut supplies to the capital.

The Observatory reported at least two civilians and five militants have been killed in battles over opposition-held Eastern Ghouta and Barada Valley regions around Damascus, since the truce came into effect Thursday at midnight.

The Syrian military on Friday denied attacking the valley, saying it respected the Russian and Turkish brokered truce.

Meanwhile, Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency reported the death of an Islamic State commander in a Turkish airstrike near the north Syrian town of al-Bab on Friday. The truce does not cover operations against the Islamic State group or al-Qaida's Syria affiliate, the Fatah al-Sham front.

Anadolu identified the commander as Abu Ansari. The report could not be independently verified. </s> Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said he is ready to host talks between Russia, Iran, and Turkey on the conflict in Syria in the Kazakh capital of Astana.

"Kazakhstan is ready to host all sides for talks in Astana," Nazarbayev said on December 26 during a visit to St. Petersburg where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kazakh national news agency Kazinform reported that Nazarbayev recently spoke with the presidents of Turkey and Iran and got their agreement to the plan.

Putin said on December 23 that Russia, Iran, Turkey and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had all agreed that neutral Kazakhstan should be the venue for new Syrian peace negotiations.

Putin said the front-line countries proved their effectiveness by arranging a cease-fire and evacuation of rebel forces and civilians from Aleppo last week, and they now are ready to try to broaden the cease-fire to the whole country and launch wider peace talks.

Russia, Iran and Turkey previously announced that they would stand as "guarantors" of any peace accord reached between the Syrian regime, which is allied with Tehran and Moscow, and rebel forces, many of which are allied with Turkey.

Based on reporting by Reuters and dpa </s> MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Russian delegation at the Syrian peace talks in the Kazakh capital, Astana, earlier handed over to the Syrian armed opposition proposals on a draft new constitution of the country.

"There are proposals and ideas that could be discussed, they could be really useful, after all," Bogdanov told Sputnik.

The Syria talks were held in Astana on January 23-24. They were initiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who proposed establishing in Astana a site of the Syrian peace process in addition to Geneva.
The Syrian Opposition agree to attend peace talks with the Syrian government in Astana, Kazakhstan, in order to press for a ceasefire to the conflict.