Jaafari: We Won’t Be Part of Scenario Aimed at Undermining Astana Talks

Head of the Syrian government delegation to peace talks, Bashar Jaafari, said on Monday that the talks in the Kazakh capital are an important event on the way to settlement in Syria.

Talking following the opening session, Jaafari said that the statement of the Syrian government delegation was positive and constructive, slamming the delegation representing the foreign-backed armed opposition.

The armed opposition delegation statement was provocative as it was not relevant and not diplomatically appropriate, said Jaafari, who is also Syria’s permanent Representative to the United Nations.

The unprofessionalism of the delegation representing the armed opposition delegation, along with their backers, aims at undermining the talks in Astana, the Syrian diplomat said.

However, Jaafari stressed that such provocative manner “won’t provoke us,” noting that “we’re still in the beginning of the talks.”