WASHINGTON: The State Department has said that the American ambassador to Kazakhstan will represent the United States at international talks on Syria set for Monday in the Kazakh capital.

The talks are being sponsored by Russia and Turkey. The invitation for the US to be an observer came from Russia’s ambassador in Washington in a telephone call with Michael Flynn, the new White House national security adviser.

That call took place on Dec 29 the same day the Obama administration levied sanctions on Russia in relation for election-related hacking in the 2016 White House campaign.

The talks are seen as a prelude to a new round of UN-led negotiations in Geneva next month between the Syrian government and the opposition.

The US envoy in Kazakhstan is George Krol, a career foreign service officer.

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2017

Opinion

Editorial

Plugging the gap
06 May, 2024

Plugging the gap

IN Pakistan, bias begins at birth for the girl child as discriminatory norms, orthodox attitudes and poverty impede...
Terrains of dread
Updated 06 May, 2024

Terrains of dread

Restored faith in the police is unachievable without political commitment and interprovincial support.
Appointment rules
Updated 06 May, 2024

Appointment rules

If the judiciary had the power to self-regulate, it ought to have exercised it instead of involving the legislature.
Hasty transition
Updated 05 May, 2024

Hasty transition

Ostensibly, the aim is to exert greater control over social media and to gain more power to crack down on activists, dissidents and journalists.
One small step…
05 May, 2024

One small step…

THERE is some good news for the nation from the heavens above. On Friday, Pakistan managed to dispatch a lunar...
Not out of the woods
05 May, 2024

Not out of the woods

PAKISTAN’S economic vitals might be showing some signs of improvement, but the country is not yet out of danger....