Syria talks in Astana seek to bolster truce in peace bid

International meeting on Syrian settlement aim to produce a joint agreement Tuesday to bolster a cease-fire that could build momentum ahead of United Nations-backed negotiations next month to end the six-year civil war.

"We are in the process of agreeing on the closing statement which will be presented to the participants," Alexander Lavrentiev, the Russian envoy to Syria, who's leading Russia's delegation to the talks in Astana, told reporters late Monday. "This is a very important and symbolic step that will allow us to reach a new stage in the negotiations."

The cease-fire in Syria was brokered by Russia and Turkey late last month. The joint initiative by Russia, Turkey and Iran suffered a setback Monday when opposition groups rejected face-to-face meetings with government representatives at the peace talks in Kazakhstan. They met instead in separate rooms with mediation, reports Bloomberg.

Even so, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said prospects for the negotiations were improved by the presence of the militant groups at the Astana summit. Turkey is helping with the contacts with the armed opposition and Iran with the Syrian government, he told reporters in Moscow on Monday.

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said he's "optimistic" about the result, speaking to reporters on Tuesday.

Mohammed Alloush, the chief rebel negotiator, who's from the Army of Islam, told reporters that the main goal of the talks was to "stop the bloodshed of the Syrian people." Only once the cease-fire is fully respected will the opposition take part in talks in Geneva planned by the United Nations next month, he said.

'Agreement on ceasefire monitoring reached'

Meanwhile, a breaking item on the website of Turkey's Anadolu news agency said Tehran, Moscow, and Ankara have agreed on a "mechanism to guard against cease-fire violations in Syria."There has been no confirmation of the development by Iranian or Russian officials, yet, but it is reportedly one of the issues to be included in the final statement of the talks.

'Not far from a final statement'

Staffan de Mistura, the UN envoy, said on Tuesday that the sides were very close to consensus on the final statement.

"We are not far from a final declaration," de Mistura said. "There are very intense discussions because this is not about a paper, this is about a cessation of hostilities which means Syrian lives."However, some reports indicate that the sides are still divided over the text of the draft statement.

"If the guarantors want the success of this meeting, they have to do something more on the ground," said senior opposition negotiator Osama Abu Zaid. "There are pledges from the Russian side to reinforce the ceasefire in areas where there are continued violations, but we're waiting for more than just statements."

What happened on day one? 

At the end of the first day, delegates voiced both hope and concern.

Bashar al-Ja'afari, who is Syria's UN ambassador and the head of the Syrian delegation in the Astana talks, criticized the delegates of the foreign-sponsored militant groups over raising "unrealistic" issues during the first day.

Mohammed Alloush is the chief negotiator for the armed opposition and is the head of the so-called Jaysh al-Islam.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's point man on Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, who is heading the Russian delegation, said, "If at the beginning, the members of the [opposition] delegation were somewhat under stress, the level of distress significantly decreased."

He added that the opposition understood that Russia "is a reliable partner, who remains true to its words, and if it guarantees any actions, or guarantees any agreement, you can rely on it."Lavrentiev said, "All the parties have shown [a] reasonable approach" during the first day. "At the end, [parties] tried to avoid some actions that could lead to the failure of this very important -- as we consider it -- international event."

Meanwhile, UN-brokered talks will be held in the Swiss city of Geneva in February according to schedule.