Members of the Syrian opposition delegation arrived yesterday in the Kazakh capital Astana for face-to-face peace talks with the war-torn nation’s government.
The talks, set to begin today, will be the first time a delegation composed exclusively of rebel groups will negotiate with the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Chief opposition negotiator Mohamed Alloush flew into Astana yesterday morning, according to an AFP correspondent who saw the delegation arrive.
He was accompanied by around a dozen rebel figures, including Fares Buyush of the Idlib Army, Hassan Ibrahim of the Southern Front and Mamoun Haj Moussa of Suqur al-Sham.
A source close to the opposition’s team said that the delegation had been broadened from eight rebel figures to a total of 14, in addition to 21 legal and political advisers.
The 10-member government delegation, headed by its UN ambassador Bashar al-Jaafari, left Damascus yesterday, according to Syrian state news agency Sana.
Rebels have insisted the talks will focus solely on reinforcing a frail nationwide truce brokered by Turkey and regime ally Russia last month.
Although the two countries have backed opposing sides of Syria’s nearly six-year conflict, they have worked hand-in-hand in recent weeks to secure an end to the brutal war that has killed more than 300,000.
A view of the lobby of Rixos President Hotel yesterday, the place that will host Syria peace talks, in Astana.
