MOSCOW. July 23 (Interfax) - Moscow expects a Syrian constitutional committee to be formed before the next round of the peace talks in the Astana format scheduled for August 1-2, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and Special Presidential Representative for the Middle East and Africa Mikhail Bogdanov said.
"We are hoping for that. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov had another phone call with Turkish Foreign Minister [Mevlut] Cavusoglu yesterday, and they discussed this matter among others. We're also in touch with [UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir] Pedersen and with the Syrians, primarily the Syrian government," Bogdanov told journalists in reply to a relevant question from Interfax.
"Work is being carried out, and we hope this issue will be resolved positively soon," he said.
No date has been set for a summit in the Astana format as of yet, Bogdanov said.