File Photo.
BEIRUT: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he believed the aim of Russian-backed peace talks in Kazakh capital Astana was to achieve a ceasefire and allow rebel groups to reach "reconciliation" deals with the government.
"So far, we believe that Astana will be about talks with terrorist groups over a ceasefire and allowing them to reach reconciliation deals," Assad said in an interview with Japanese media outlet TBS, excerpts of which were published on the presidency's Twitter feed on Thursday.
Assad said he hoped the conference in Astana, scheduled for next week, would be a platform to discuss "everything" with rebel groups but that it was not clear if it would include a political dialogue "because it is not clear who will participate".
