US Coalition Envoy considers Russia, Iran, Turkey ‘main influencers' in Syria

The first round of the intra-Syrian peace talks in Kazakhstan's capital of Astana were held on January 23-24, resulting in Moscow-Tehran-Ankara agreement on establishment of a trilateral mechanism to monitor the ceasefire in Syria, Sputnik International reports.

The talks brokered by Russia, Iran and Turkey brought together the representatives of the Syrian government and the armed opposition groups for the first time since the beginning of the Syrian war in 2011.

McGurk's comment came in response to UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura’s remark on the role of the White House in tackling the Syrian crisis, made at the Munich Security Conference panel on Syria.

McGurk, who represents the White House at the coalition, argued the UN should not expect that Washington would come up with a one-size-fits-all solution.

The deescalation in Syria might lead to Syrian conflict resolution, but it should be reinforced, he said. "There might be some opportunities simply because of the deescalatory cycle that we have seen, but we really would after reinforce this."

The Syrian ceasefire that came into force on December 30 is backed by Russia and Turkey, and has been holding up in general, despite continued reports of violations. TheUN Security Council passed a resolution in December supporting the effort.