Geneva peace talks on Syria

A new Syrian constitution was not discussed at talks in the Kazakh capital of Astana on Feb. 16, the head of Syria's government delegation has said.

Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ümit Yalçın met political and military representatives of the Syrian opposition on Feb. 3 in Ankara to prepare for a meeting in Geneva on Feb. 20, Turkish Foreign Ministry sources told the Hürriyet Daily News.

Syrian opposition representatives will have talks with Turkish officials in Ankara on Feb. 6 in order to set a course for the upcoming talks in Astana and Geneva, a Turkish official, who asked to remain anonymous, told Hürriyet Daily News.

U.N.-hosted negotiations on the Syrian conflict planned for Feb. 8 in Geneva have been postponed until the end of that month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Jan. 27, after a meeting with a group of selected Syrian opposition representatives, though the United Nations said it could not confirm this information.

Negotiations on a ceasefire in Syria are about to begin in the Kazakh capital Astana.

Russia has invited the U.S. to take part in the upcoming intra-Syrian talks in the Kazakh capital of Astana on Jan. 23, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Jan. 19. 

"The U.S. have already been invited," Lavrov told reporters in Moscow, according to state-run Anadolu Agency. 

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov agreed on Sept. 14 that a cessation of hostilities agreement in Syria was holding, and extended it by 48 hours to allow for increased humanitarian access. 

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry exchanged their views over the violence in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, as the latter held urgent talks in Geneva in a bid to bolster a fragile, partial cease-fire in Syria. 

At least 20 people were killed, including three children and two doctors,  in the Syrian city of Aleppo, Thursday, during air strikes by Syrian fighter jets. The UN described the situation in the city as ‘disastrous’. The Syrian air force bombed civilian houses including a hospital where members from the organisation ‘Doctors Without Borders’ were working at.

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has expressed her concern about reports of "new Syrian regime offensives near Aleppo and east of Damascus." 

"The EU strongly supports the U.N. efforts to resume Syrian talks and push for the political transition for the sake of Syrians, the region and the world," Mogherini said in a statement.