Syria has no objections to US presence at Astana talks

Any country that "honestly seeks to facilitate the peaceful settlement of the Syrian conflict, is eligible to take part in the Astana meeting," the Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said.

He made clear that Damascus had no objections to the presence of US representatives at the Astana talks. However, Mekdad stressed that Washington "will have to prove its sincerity about settling the Syrian crisis." 

According to the Syrian deputy minister, the US "should exert pressure on Turkey to make it close its border with Syria," as well as influence its partners, namely Saudi Arabia and Qatar "preventing them from financing militant groups and supplying weapons to them," TASS reports.