​Second round of Syrian opposition talks to kick off in Astana on Friday

The second round of reconciliation talks of the representatives of the Syrian opposition will be held later on Friday in Astana, according to the press service of the Kazakh Foreign Ministry.

Secretary of State of the Republic of Kazakhstan Gulshara Abdykalikova will deliver welcome speech at the beginning of the negotiations.

Earlier this year, leader of the Movement for Pluralistic Society Randa Kassis and other representatives of the Syrian opposition appealed to the leadership of Kazakhstan to provide a platform for the second round of talks.

The first round took place in May in Astana with some 30 Syrian opposition members. The two-day reconciliation talks ended with signing of a document summing up the results of negotiations.

Syria has been in a state of civil war for the past four years, with government forces engaged in a war against various militias, including the Islamic State.

Syria's warring parties have met twice over the last three years at UN-backed Geneva conferences and twice in the Russian capital Moscow but failed to reach a practical solution toward ending the violence that has killed more than 220,000 people.

Source: akipress