TEHRAN, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Representatives of Iran, Russia and Turkey started an expert-level meeting in the capital Tehran on Syria on Tuesday, Tasnim news agency reported.
The meeting aims to set the agenda of imminent Syrian peace talks in the Kazakh capital of Astana in near future, the report said.
During the two-day meeting in Tehran, the participants will exchange views about the ongoing ceasefire and the establishment of de-escalation zones in Syria.
The upcoming Astana talks will be held with the participation of representatives from Iran, Russia and Turkey and Delegations from the Syrian government, Syrian opposition forces, as well as observers from the United Nations at the end of August.
On July 6, Russia, Turkey and Iran agreed to form a joint working group on establishing de-escalation zones in Syria during the talks in Astana.
The three countries signed a memorandum of understanding on creating four de-escalation zones in Syria on May 4, aiming to ease tensions for at least six months in Syria where the war is in the seventh year.
According to the memorandum, the government and opposition forces will halt fighting in four zones, including the northwestern province of Idlib, the central province of Homs, the eastern Ghouta countryside of Damascus, and areas in the Daraa and Qunaitera provinces in southern Syria.
