Syrian regime, rebels attend fresh Russian-backed talks

Representatives from the Syrian government and rebel groups held fresh talks today with key powerbrokers Russia, Turkey and Iran aimed at shoring up a fragile ceasefire.

The meeting is the second time key players Moscow, Ankara and Tehran have brought the warring sides together, and comes ahead of a new round of UN-led talks on Syria in Geneva on February 23.

The latest round of discussions is expected to focus mostly on bolstering a faltering six-week truce and has been billed as a prelude to broader negotiations in Geneva.

The regional brokers met separately for talks with regime and rebel delegates today in the Kazakh capital Astana.

It appeared unlikely that the two sides would meet one-on-one, but a plenary session involving all parties was scheduled.

A first set of talks on Syria that took place in Astana in January saw the rebels refuse to talk directly to the regime and did not result in any significant breakthrough.

Rebel spokesman Yehya al-Aridi told

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)