Astana Syria Talks Initiative Useful to UN - UN Envoy for Syria

    Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call on Saturday discussed the possible meeting of the Syrian conflicting parties in Astana.
    Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev supported this initiative and expressed readiness to provide a platform for such talks.
    "There are some interesting important initiatives that are being planned in January, including what we heard about the Astana meeting, we feel like all of these initiatives are useful to us to be able to create a common approach," de Mistura told a briefing.
    He added that he considered the Astana talks as a stage and a contribution that would complement the effort of the United Nations on Syrian reconciliation, Sputnik International reports.