ASTANA, January 23. /TASS/. The Astana international meeting on Syria is "a clear manifestation of the international community’s efforts directed to peaceful settlement of the situation in Syria," Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev said in his welcome address to the meeting’s participants, read out by the country’s Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov.

"Kazakhstan believes, that the only way to find a solution to the Syrian crisis is through negotiations, based on mutual trust and understanding," Nazarbayev added.

The Kazakh president also said that "the Astana meeting will create the necessary conditions for all concerned parties to find a suitable solution to the Syrian crisis within the framework of the Geneva process under the United Nations auspices and will make a worthy contribution to promoting peace and stability in Syria."