Next round of Syria talks in Astana delayed

The next round of talks between Russia, Turkey and Iran on settling the Syrian civil conflict has been pushed back from late August to mid-September, Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov said on Tuesday.

"According to the information we have received from Russia, the guarantor states, namely Russia, Turkey and Iran plan to hold a technical meeting before the end of August where they will agree on the agenda and exact dates of the next Astana meeting," Abdrakhmanov told reporters.

"A preliminary plan is for mid-September."

Kazakhstan hosts the talks which have in the past few months focused on establishing de-escalation zones in Syria.