Xie, China's former ambassador to Iran and Ethiopia as well as representative to the African Union, was appointed the special envoy on the Syrian issue in March 2016, with the aim of better promoting dialogue and communicating with other parties to facilitate a solution.

The UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said earlier Thursday that preparations were being made for the talks.

"We, the UN, believe that any effort that consolidates the cessation of hostilities and helps in preparing for a discussion that will take place here in Geneva in February is certainly welcomed," de Mistura told reporters following a humanitarian task force meeting.

During an interview with Xinhua on Friday after meeting with Xie Xiaoyan, de Mistura said that he hoped that the talks will pave the way towards the UN-mediated political discussions based on UN Security Council resolution 2254 in Geneva on Feb. 8.

"Astana is an important opportunity and that's why both China and the UN support this initiative. We are looking forward in Astana to seeing the consolidation of the cessation of hostilities," Staffan de Mistura said.

"What the Syrian people are asking for is a stop to the fighting, so if by the time there is a meeting on this on Jan. 23 in Astana and the cessation of hostilities is consolidated and not broken as we have seen at times in the last few days, that is an important moment," he added.

【国内英语资讯:Interview: China hopes Astana talks will bear fruit for Syrias political process: Chinese】相关文章：

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