The United Nations has been invited to talks of the Syrian government and opposition due to be held in Kazakhstan’s Astana, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the world organization Vitaly Churkin told reporters on Wednesday.
“Of course, the UN is invited,” Churkin said, noting he was not certain that UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura would arrive in Kazakhstan’s capital.
“His people will definitely be there. That’s for sure,” he added.
Answering a question on participation of representatives from Iran and Saudi Arabia, the Russian envoy said that it was not still clear.
“In my opinion, the international players’ role is still unclear as well as whether they will be present there or not,” Churkin said. “Certainly, we want everybody to make a positive contribution to preparations for the meeting.”
In the meantime, UN Secretary General’s Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq told journalists at Wednesday’s briefing he had no details on representation of the United Nations at the Astana talks.
“At this stage I do not have any details about our representation in Astana. We are checking with the office of the special envoy (for Syria) to see what kind of representation, if any, we would have,” he said.
Russia’s envoy to the UN said on Wednesday that the situation in Syria “was very fragile and dangerous.”
“We all must hope that the situation will be rather stable for preparations for this important meeting to be continued,” Churkin said.