Astana Talks on Syria Concludes after Absence of Opposition

Deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Akylbek Kamaldinov announced today the conclusion of the third Astana talks with participation from Russia, Turkey, Iran, and a delegation from the Syrian regime. The Syrian opposition was absent from this meeting.
The minister said the meeting was concluded due to the absence of Syrian opposition. Russia had remained hopeful that the opposition would arrive Thursday morning. However the Syrian opposition group had announced their withdrawal saying that none of the agreements reached in talks sponsored by Russia and Turkey on December 30 were implemented.
The upcoming Astana talks will take place on May 4-5. The fifth round of Geneva talks, which sponsored by the UN, will take place on March 23 with both the Syrian regime and opposition taking part.

Source: QNA