'We expect Russia to implement promise of withdrawal from Syria'

The International Meeting on Syrian Settlement entered its second day in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, on Tuesday.

"We expect implementations, not only promises," said Osama Abu Zaid, a member of the opposition delegation, in reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement that Russian forces wound partially withdraw from Syria.

Russia has been backing the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Turkey has been backing the opposition.

"Turkey, Russia and Kazakhstan are doing what is necessary to make the meeting successful. Concrete steps are needed to be taken to achieve success," said Zaid.

The representatives of the Syrian regime, opposition groups, Russia, Turkey, Iran, the UN special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, as well as U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan George Krol have been participating in the talks.

Zaid added that the “biggest" obstacle in the way of achieving a national ceasefire and a political solution to the civil war was the regime's violations. The ceasefire, brokered by Turkey, Russia and Iran, came into effect on December 30.

The opposition member also spoke about the final declaration of the talks, saying, “We did not see the draft version. It was not transmitted to us. That is why, we cannot speak on this."

The Kazakh Foreign Ministry announced that the meeting was due to finish on Tuesday evening, however it could be extended if need be.