Sputnik- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu discussed in a phone call on Monday the preparation for the upcoming international consultations on Syria peace process in Kazakh capital, Astana, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)�� The Astana talks are scheduled to�be held next Monday, January 23, followed by�an anticipated round�of intra-Syrian negotiations in�Geneva on�February 8. Earlier in�the day, a political adviser to�the UN special envoy for�Syria told Sputnik that the Astana talks may be postponed.

"The ministers exchanged opinions the situation in�Syria, stressing the need for�strict implementation of�the ceasefire in�the country established with�mediation of�Russia and Turkey," the ministry said in�a statement. "The sides also discussed practical issues of�the preparation of�an international meeting on�the Syrian crisis settlement in�Astana considering the results of�the January 13 consultations between�Russia, Turkey, and Iran in�Moscow," the statement said. On December 17, 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed in�a phone call the possibility of�a meeting between�the Syrian conflicting parties in�Astana. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev supported the initiative and expressed readiness to�provide a platform for�such talks in�the Kazakh capital.