The Kazakh Capital of Astana is all set to host participants in the Syrian peace talks in a bid to end the sufferance of the Syrian people and stop the bloodshed. 
The talks, sponsored by Russia, Iran and Turkey, are due to kick off Monday in the presence of UN, EU and US representatives. The talks aim to consolidate the cease-fire in Syria and to develop a framework for a new round of negotiations in Geneva on February 8 in order to resume the political process, which began by a series of meetings Geneva (1-2-3) since June 2012 until February 2016. The Russian and Turkish delegations are scheduled to hold consultations ahead of the talks. 
Astana meeting is the first between the Syrian regime forces and the opposition factions since the declaration of the cease-fire on December 31 under the auspices of the Russia and Turkey. 
In a surprising news few hours ahead of the meeting, the US Department of State announced it will not send a delegation to take part in the Syrian talks, citing "presidential inauguration and the immediate demands of the transition", noting that its envoy to Kazakhstan will represent Washington in the talks as an observer. 
Meanwhile, Russian media announced that the door is still open for more Syrian opposition factions to join the talks. Fourteen opposition factions will attend Astana talks chaired by chief negotiator of main opposition bloc Mohammad Alloush while Syria's envoy to the UN Bashar Al Jaafari will chair the Assad regime's delegation. 
Observers believe that Russia has chosen Kazakhstan for several reasons, mainly because its closeness geographically and politically, and because Kazakhstan was not a party to the conflict and therefore may be accepted by the opposition. 
Kazakhstan, the host country, will not be a party in the talks and will have no representative to the talks, it will only provide a platform for negotiation between the actors in the Syrian file.