Iran opposes United States participation in Syria peace talks in Astana: Zarif

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has expressed the Islamic Republic’s opposition to the participation of the United States in the forthcoming Syria peace talks in Kazakhstan, which aim to boost efforts to end the nearly six-year-old conflict in the Arab country.

The top Iranian diplomat made the remarks in answer to a question on Tuesday ahead of the planned peace talks in the Kazakh capital of Astana.

“We have not invited the US and oppose their presence [at the talks],” Zarif said.
The Astana negotiations will be held between representatives from the Damascus government and foreign-sponsored opposition groups on January 23.

The negotiations, which exclude the Daesh and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham Takfiri terrorist groups, are mediated by Russia, Turkey, and Iran. The three countries successfully implemented a similar accord in December after militants were defeated in Syria’s northwestern city of Aleppo.