Iraq will take part in the Astana talks on Syria in Sochi as an observer, Iraqi Ambassador to Russia Abdulrahman Al-Hussaini told RIA Novosti.
"As for the Astana meetings, Iraq will be represented by Ambassador of the Republic of Iraq to the Russian Federation Abdulrahman al-Husseini," the ambassador said.
The next round of Astana talks on Syria will be held in Sochi on February 16-17.
The talks, known as the Astana format (after the former name of the Kazakh capital), have been held in Nur-Sultan since 2017, and in January 2018, Sochi hosted the Syrian National Dialogue Congress, which was the first attempt since the conflict began to gather a broad range of participants on a single negotiating platform. The main result of the congress was the decision to create a constitutional committee, which works in Geneva and whose main task is to prepare constitutional reform.
The armed conflict in Syria has been ongoing since 2011. At the end of 2017, victory over the terrorist group Islamic State (banned in Russia) in Syria and Iraq was announced. In certain areas of the countries, militant cleansing continues. At the moment, the focus is on a political settlement, the reconstruction of Syria, and the return of refugees.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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Based on materials from RIA Novosti