UN special envoy for Syria may attend Astana talks

Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General for Syria Geir Pedersen plans to take part in the international meeting on Syria in the Astana format (Russia, Iran, Türkiye), which is taking place on June 20-21, Report informs via TASS.

"By tradition, representatives of the observer countries will participate [in the talks]. These are the Arab countries neighboring Syria - Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan. Our colleagues from the UN structures are also here, first of all, this is Mr. Geir Pedersen, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Syria," Russian President's Special Representative for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Mikhail Bogdanov told journalists.

The negotiations in Astana are attended by delegations of guarantor countries - Russia, Türkiye and Iran, as well as representatives of the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition. Representatives of the UN, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq are expected to attend as observers.