Peace talks between the Syrian government and opposition forces resumed in the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan on Tuesday after a rough first day in which the sides exchanged barbs but agreed on the need to maintain a ceasefire.
The negotiations - brokered by Russia, which backs Syria's ruling regime, and Turkey, which supports certain rebel groups - were expected to focus on shoring up a fragile countrywide ceasefire to enable a broader humanitarian effort in Syria.
Tuesday's round, at the five-star Rixos hotel in the Kazakh capital Astana, was expected to finish at about 2 pm (0800 GMT) with a press conference by UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura, state news agency Kazinform reported citing the Kazakh Foreign Ministry.
The negotiations, attended by representatives of Russia, Turkey, Iran, the US and the UN, have been focused on an agreement which is meant to be signed at the end of Tuesday, Kazinform reported.
De Mistura, who is expected to host further Syria talks in Geneva next month, said he was optimistic about progress in Astana, according to comments carried by Russian state news agency TASS.
"The dialogue is at least moving," Sanat Kushkumbayev, deputy director of the state's Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies, said in comments carried by Kazinform.
"There is a common saying that a bad peace is better than a good quarrel. This was the initiative of (Russian and Turkish presidents) Putin and Erdogan, while (Kazakh President) Nursultan Nazarbayev supported that initiative," Kushkumbayev said.
