Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he believed peace talks in Kazakhstan would lead to local "reconciliation" deals with rebels, a sign of his confidence in a process launched by his Russian allies after the opposition's defeat in Aleppo. Assad said insurgent groups would give up their weapons and receive a government pardon under such agreements. "So far, we believe that Astana will be about talks with terrorist groups over a ceasefire" that would facilitate reconciliation deals, Assad said in excerpts from the interview published on Twitter by the presidency. Russia, Assad's most powerful ally, has pushed the Astana talks with help from Iran and Turkey, which backs the opposition but has switched its priorities to fighting Kurdish groups and Islamic State militants. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that the United States had been invited to the Astana talks.

Source: Egypt Independent January 19, 2017 14:31 UTC