Syria peace talks may continue on Wed.: delegation’s spox

Syria peace talks currently held in the Kazakh capital Astana may continue on Wednesday, delegation’s spokesman Osama Abu Zeid said.
"If the countries-guarantors say that they need more time, one more day, we will agree," he said. "We have not come here for just two days, we have a goal that needs to be reached," said Abu Zeid adding that "We are sure that the hosting side, Russia and Turkey are working for the success of the meeting,"
Syrian opposition chief negotiator Mohammed Alloush said that the Iran-backed Shia militants currently fighting against the Sunni opposition in Syria are no difference from the Islamic States (IS) terrorist groups.
The remarks came during the first round of meeting between Syria opposition group and representatives from the Syrian regime kicked off Monday in Astana to participate in the negotiations on a political solution to the conflict in Syria, which has left more than 250,000 people dead since 2011.
The delegation’s spokesman also said that the Syrian opposition expects the countries-guarantors - Russia, Iran and Turkey - to agree on an official communique of the Astana meeting.
"We do not comment on a draft document, we are waiting for a text of the official final statement," he said. "We have not received any draft. There is a lot of talk about this draft, but it was not handed over to us, the rebels, and we are not discussing it."
Abu Zeid said Russia, Turkey and Kazakhstan are working to achieve success at the meeting. "Yesterday we met with the representatives of Russia, Turkey and Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura and discussed the ceasefire violations."
The talks in Astana involving delegations of the Syrian government and the opposition, Russia, Turkey, Iran, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura and US Ambassador to Kazakhstan George Krol acting as an observer entered their second day on Tuesday.
The talks, backed by Russia and Turkey, are the first between the two warring sides in a year. The talks are expected to focus on consolidating a shaky ceasefire that has been in place since December 30.
The participants plan to finalize a document, consolidating the ceasefire and confirming the determination of the sides towards settling the Syrian crisis.