The next round of the Astana talks on Syria is set for October 30-31, and an opposition meeting may take place in Riyadh ahead of it, in mid-October, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told TASS on Wednesday.

"There are several factors here. There is a proposal from Saudi Arabia to hold an opposition meeting in Riyadh that they initially planned for mid-October. Its goal is to consolidate the opposition delegation," Gatilov said.

The sixth round of the Astana talks on peace settlement in Syria took place in mid-September at Moscow’s initiative. Russia, Turkey and Iran signed a memorandum to establish four de-escalation zones: in the Idlib Governorate, north of Homs, in Eastern Ghouta and in southern Syria.

The seventh round of consultations in Astana is expected to focus on effective operation of de-escalation zones.

Source: MENA