Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
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Astana, SANA – Head of the Russian delegation to Astana 4 meeting, Alexander Lavrentiev, said that “the opposition does not want to take on certain commitments in Astana and is thus trying to use any pretext to either undermine or forestall their participation.”
In a statement on Wednesday, Lavrentiev slammed the opposition for accusing the Russian Air Force of launching airstrikes against “moderate opposition” sites in Homs and Daraa, adding that these accusations are groundless since they lack evidence.
He added that the UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura held a meeting with the Syrian armed opposition which unfortunately reaffirmed its unconstructive approach again, indicating that a little while after their arrival in Astana; the armed opposition accused the Russian Air Force of targeting “moderate opposition” near Homs and Daraa.
Lavrentiev underlined Russia’s intense efforts to reach a peaceful settlement to the crisis in Syria, set up different plans to fix the cessation of combat activities and make for more effective ceasefire system.
Head of the Asia and Africa Department at the Kazakh Foreign Ministry Aidarbek Tumatov said that the “Armed opposition” delegation will resume its participation in the Astana 4 talks on Syria on Thursday.
Earlier today, a source close to the Astana 4 meeting said that representatives of the “armed opposition” have issued a memo to other participants saying that they withdrew from the talks.
R.Raslan/Mazen
