Syrian rebels meet in Kazakhstan ahead of talks

ASTANA, Kazakhstan (AP) - Syrian rebel delegates are meeting in Kazakhstan ahead of talks with government representatives that are scheduled to begin Monday.

The talks in the Kazakh capital, Astana, are sponsored by Russia, Iran and Turkey, and represent the first such negotiations between the two sides in a year. The U.N.'s Syria envoy, Staffan de Mistura, is participating in the talks. The new U.S. administration is not.

The opposition delegation, which arrived in Astana on Sunday, is made up of about a dozen rebel figures led by Mohammad Alloush, of the Army of Islam rebel group. The Syrian government is sending its U.N. ambassador, Bashar Ja'afari, and military delegates.

At the top of the agenda is an effort to consolidate a cease-fire brokered by Russia and Turkey last month.