ASTANA. Jan 23 (Interfax) - U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan George Krol will represent the U.S. at the talks on Syria hosted by Astana, the Kazakh capital, Department of State spokesman Mark Toner said.
The U.S. welcomes and appreciates the invitation from Kazakhstan to take part in the talks as an observer. Due to the inauguration of the new U.S. president and the transition of power processes, no delegation from Washington is going to attend the Astana talks but the U.S. will be represented by its ambassador in Astana, Toner said, according to the U.S. Embassy in Astana that posted a communication on its website.
A knowledgeable source told Interfax earlier that the U.S. would be represented in the Astana talks by the chief of the U.S. diplomatic mission to Kazakhstan.
Meanwhile, the delegates have started to arrive in Astana. Negotiators from Russia, Turkey and Iran have already arrived, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said. The Iranian news agency Tasnim said that they had already held an informal meeting. UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura is expected to arrive late at night and so are the heads of the Syrian opposition delegations. The Syrian government representatives are expected to arrive on Sunday.