By Mohamad Misto, Adham Kako, and Aliia Raimbekova
ASTANA, Kazakhstan
Peace talks aimed at ending the Syria conflict began Monday at a luxury hotel in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana.
Fourteen representatives of armed opposition groups gathered at the Rixos Hotel for indirect negotiations with delegates representing the Syrian government.
The discussions, which will focus on extending the cease-fire that came into effect on Dec. 30, have been brokered by Turkey, which backs the opposition, and Russia and Iran, who support Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
They will discuss violations of the cease-fire as well as improving security within Syria in a bid to pave the way for a political solution to the six-year conflict.
The UN special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, attended the talks that began at around 1 p.m. local time (0700GMT).
UN-brokered talks between representatives of Bashar al-Assad and civilian opposition figures broke down early last year when Russian support turned the war in the Syrian regime’s favor.
Syria’s UN Ambassador Bashar al-Jaafari heads the regime side. The Turkish delegation is led by Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Sedat Onal while Special Envoy Alexander Lavrentiev and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov will lead the Russian team.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari and U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan George Krol are also participating.
The meeting is due to last until Tuesday evening, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said. More than 400 journalists are attending.
Groups such as Daesh and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, are excluded from the cease-fire and the talks.
Cease-fire and aid deliveries
A Turkish diplomatic source said it was "significant" for the Assad regime and an opposition delegation to gather in Astana.
"Since the beginning, Turkey has said there is no military solution to the Syrian crisis," the source said after the first session of talks, speaking on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
The source said the participants should focus on strengthening the cease-fire. "We want the Astana talks to take steps in this regard and help put an end to cease-fire violations," it added.
The source said the delivery of humanitarian aid is also "highly" important.
"We believe that confidence-building measures from Astana will contribute to the political process in Geneva," the source added.
According to the Assad regime media, al-Jaafari said they expect that at the meeting, conflict will be stopped for a "certain" period of time and the groups who signed onto the cease-fire agreement will be distinguished from terrorist groups like Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and Daesh.
‘Make it permanent’
De Mistura said chances of success will be "greater" if the parties can agree on a mechanism to control the cease-fire.
"Let's today and tomorrow overcome the problems related to the cease-fire and let's try to make it permanent. Let's see what can be done to build trust between the parties," he said.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a news conference in Moscow that de Mistura will meet the representatives of the armed opposition with the help of Turkish diplomats.
Lavrov said the aim of Astana is a "direct" meeting between the regime and the opposition.
Mohamed Alloush, who heads the Syrian opposition delegation, said the cease-fire needs to be strengthened before a political solution can be reached in Syria.
Speaking to reporters after the first session of talks, Alloush said: "We will not move on to the second step unless a cease-fire is ensured.”
He called for an improvement of the humanitarian situation in besieged areas.
He also insisted that Assad must leave Syria. “A real political solution will actualize when Assad and his supporters leave the country," he added.
Meanwhile, President Nursultan Nazarbayev met de Mistura before the talks, according to a statement from the Kazakh presidency.
“We want the negotiations to be successful,” Nazarbayev said.
He said the situation in Syria is a concern for not only the Middle East but for the whole world.
He assured de Mistura the meeting in Astana will make a "significant" contribution to peace talks in Geneva.
De Mistura thanked Nazarbayev for hosting the talks. "Your country sets a great example for the solution of the most difficult problems in the world."
He said Kazakhstan's non-permanent membership on the UN Security Council would provide additional opportunities to resolve the Syrian crisis.
Opposition urges withdrawal of Iranian forces, release of female prisoners
Under the framework of the indirect talks, the opposition delegation held a joint press conference with officials from Turkey, Russia, and the United Nations.
Representatives from the opposition groups stipulated certain conditions for reaching a lasting deal.
They submitted a detailed report on the crisis in the war-torn country, including a map showing areas hit by regime forces despite the truce.
Hezbollah militias, backed by Iran and Syrian regime, should withdraw from the territories they have captured since the cease-fire came into force, the opposition groups said.
They also called for access to humanitarian aid for areas surrounded by government forces.
The Syria regime was also accused of imprisoning as many as 13,000 women, and the opposition delegation demanded their immediate release.
They also insisted that Iranian forces and the foreign groups in Syria supported by Tehran should leave the country.
An estimated 400,000 people have been killed and 11 million displaced since the start of the Syrian civil war in March 2011, according to the UN.
'Productive' meeting
Yahya al-Aridi, a Syrian opposition delegation spokesman at the talks, told a press conference Monday evening, “After the opening session, we held a productive meeting with the Russian and the Turkish sides, with the presence and coordination of the UN Special Envoy De Mistora.”
“We talked about specific things, basically trying to achieve a real verifiable cease-fire all over the country, and on humanitarian dimension of lifting of the siege, and also signs of good will, like the release of hostages,” he said.
“Now the work is on developing the mechanisms and standards for achieving cease-fire in Syria, in accordance with that agreement signed on 30th of December 2016,” he added.
Al-Aridi also said, “The main problem actually that there could be certain people who are not interested in achieving cease-fire right now, because their projects are not yet completed.”
He added, “If anyone wants to achieve a cease-fire, he wouldn’t be bombarding certain areas hours ago, [as] two hours ago many areas in Syria were bombarded.”
* Diyar Guldogan contributed to this story from Ankara
