NUR-SULTAN, July 6. /TASS/. The delegations of Russia and the Syrian government have arrived in Kazakhstan’s capital of Nur-Sultan to participate in the 16th high-level international meeting on Syria in the Astana format, Kazakh Foreign Ministry Spokesman Aibek Smadiyarov told reporters on Tuesday.
"The Russian and Syrian delegations have already arrived," he said.
The delegations of Turkey and the Syrian opposition arrived in Nur-Sultan earlier. United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen is expected to arrive later in the day. The Iranian Foreign Minister's Senior Assistant for Special Political Affairs Ali Asghar Khaji, who heads Tehran’s delegation, will arrive in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
On July 7-8, Nur-Sultan will host the 16th high-level international meeting on Syria in the Astana format that will involve delegations representing the guarantor countries (Russia, Iran, and Turkey), the Syrian government, and the Syrian armed opposition. The United Nations, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq will participate in the event as observers. The negotiators will discuss the situation in Syria, international humanitarian assistance to the country, prospects for resuming the activities of the Syrian Constitutional Committee in Geneva, and confidence-building measures, including prisoner swaps, the release of hostages, and the search for missing persons.