ASTANA. Nov 29 (Interfax) - The guarantor countries (Russia, Iran and Turkey) of the Astana format on Syria have failed to agree candidates for new observers as part of the talks on Syria, but these three countries stand ready to invite Iraq, a source close to the talks told Interfax.
"No consensus has been reached. Russia is ready to invite the Saudis, the [United] Arab Emirates and ask them to extend financial assistance to the Syrians to fund rebuilding efforts. However, the Saudis have difficult relations both with the Turks and Iran. Therefore, at this point all [of the guarantor countries] are ready to invite only Iraq," the source said.
"However, in this case Lebanon should be invited as well, because this country is home to a large number of refugees and shares a border [with Syria]," he said.