At a meeting with Kazakhstan’s top diplomat in New York, the UN chief expressed full support of Astana’s efforts toward reconciliation in Syria, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s press service has said.

Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov met with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres during his visit to the United States on Sunday.
«The minister informed the secretary general about the negotiation process on Syria in Astana.

Guterres expressed his full support to the process, because, in his opinion, these negotiations pave the way for success of the Geneva talks,» the ministry said in a statement.

During the meeting, Guterres said he would take part in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit and the opening of the Expo-2017 exhibition in the Kazakh capital on May 8-9.

«It was stressed that it will be his second visit to Kazakhstan in six months, which demonstrates that the UN pays great attention to cooperation with Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries,» the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said.

Kazakhstan also suggested setting up an international UN hub in the Kazakh city of Almaty and said it was ready to allocate a building for the purpose.