AKIPRESS.COM - International meeting on Syrian settlement aim to produce a joint agreement Tuesday to bolster a cease-fire that could build momentum ahead of United Nations-backed negotiations next month to end the six-year civil war.

“We are in the process of agreeing on the closing statement which will be presented to the participants,” Alexander Lavrentiev, the Russian envoy to Syria, who’s leading Russia’s delegation to the talks in Astana, told reporters late Monday. “This is a very important and symbolic step that will allow us to reach a new stage in the negotiations.”

The cease-fire in Syria was brokered by Russia and Turkey late last month. The joint initiative by Russia, Turkey and Iran suffered a setback Monday when opposition groups rejected face-to-face meetings with government representatives at the peace talks in Kazakhstan. They met instead in separate rooms with mediation, reports Bloomberg.

Even so, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said prospects for the negotiations were improved by the presence of the militant groups at the Astana summit. Turkey is helping with the contacts with the armed opposition and Iran with the Syrian government, he told reporters in Moscow on Monday.

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said he’s “optimistic” about the result, speaking to reporters on Tuesday.

Mohammed Alloush, the chief rebel negotiator, who’s from the Army of Islam, told reporters that the main goal of the talks was to “stop the bloodshed of the Syrian people.” Only once the cease-fire is fully respected will the opposition take part in talks in Geneva planned by the United Nations next month, he said.

The fact that government forces are continuing to break the truce means “it hasn’t been implemented,” Osama Abu Zaid, a member of the opposition delegation, told reporters on Tuesday. “We are expecting more than warnings” from Russia to Assad, he said. “We want action.”

With the original cease-fire guaranteed only by Russia and Turkey, Iran also should play a role in monitoring compliance with the truce, recording violations and making sure they don’t reoccur, Lavrentiev said.