TEHRAN – Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said that Tehran is opposed to a U.S. presence in peace talks on the Syria conflict that are planned for January 23 in Kazakhstan's capital Astana, Tasnim news agency reported.

“We have not invited them, and we are against their presence,” Zarif said on Tuesday.

The foreign minister’s remarks came after his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that he thought it was right to invite the Trump administration to peace talks on the Syrian conflict.

Zarif and Lavrov held a phone call on Monday to discuss the upcoming peace talks.

The two sides called for further coordination between Tehran and Moscow ahead of the talks.

The Astana negotiations will be held between representatives from the Damascus government and opposition groups.

Many hope the talks could put an end to nearly six years of devastating militancy in Syria which has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

MH/PA