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US Ambassador to Represent Washington at Syria Talks

by VOA News

   An official delegation from Washington will not attend the upcoming
   Syria talks in Kazakhstan, where the U.S. will be represented by the
   American ambassador to the country, the State Department said Saturday.

   The talks are due to open open Monday in the Kazakh capital of Astana.

   A U.N. spokeswomen said Thursday that Secretary General Antonio
   Guterres asked Syrian envoy Staffan de Mistura to attend the
   negotiations "in light of the complexity and importance of the issues
   likely to be raised in Astana."

   Russia, Syria's most powerful ally, brokered the talks with help from
   Iran and Turkey, which supports the opposition, but has changed its
   priorities to fighting Kurdish groups and Islamic State.

   [VOA State Department correspondent Steve Herman contributed to this
   report]