Peace talks are to commence today between the Syrian government and Syrian rebels; the talks are to take place in Kazakhstan.
The talks are being held under the auspices of Russia, Iran, and Turkey.
This will be the first time that the two sides are meeting since the collapse of peace talks in Geneva about a year ago.
Despite the meetings planned to commence in several hours, however, Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vassilenko said on Monday that the matter of direct meetings was still being discussed.