Fresh Syria peace talks open in Kazakhstan's capital
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Astana: A fresh round of peace talks seeking to end Syria's war began in the Kazakh capital Astana on Monday, as part of a Moscow-led push supported by Iran and opposition backer Turkey.
The latest round of talks began days after the Islamic State jihadist group was forced out of its de facto capital Raqa in northern Syria, in a major victory for the US-backed Kurdish-Arab Syrian Democratic Forces.
Russia's military intervention in 2015 turned the tables in Syrian president and Kremlin ally Bashar al-Assad's favour, but the role of diplomatic arbiter in the complicated conflict is a new one for Moscow.
Speaking to journalists after the first day of closed-door talks, Russia's chief negotiator Alexander Lavrentyev expressed confidence that a political settlement to the six-year conflict was possible.
Assad "has confirmed his readiness for... the preparation of a new constitution and the holding of new parliamentary and presidential elections on this basis", Lavrentyev said on Monday.
Lavrentyev called Assad's acceptance earlier this month of a constitutional reform process "a very important announcement".
He also said Russia is ready to host a "congress of the peoples of Syria" involving both regime and opposition representatives.
The precise date and location of the congress would be determined in Astana, Lavrentyev said, suggesting it could be at Russia's Hmeimim military base in Syria.
The plan for a congress appears to be a confidence-building measure ahead of United Nations-led talks in Geneva on a political settlement that are set to start November 28.
