Trilateral talks on Syria postponed after U.S. backs out

The United States, Russian and United Nations trilateral talks on Syria scheduled for Monday have been postponed, says U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura.

De Mistura said he did not know why the United States decided against attending the meeting early next week, but believed Washington remained committed to the three-way discussions on the Syrian situation.

"I would say that the indication I got from Washington is exactly that, that there is clearly an intention to maintain and resume these trilateral meetings," he said. "And, the date and the circumstances were not conducive for this to happen on Monday, but that is certainly their intention."

De Mistura added he would be holding a bilateral meeting on Monday with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov.

Russia, Turkey and Iran are sponsors of the Astana negotiations on May 3 and 4, which will focus on arranging a cease-fire in Syria so peace talks in Geneva can proceed.

De Mistura said he would be watching developments on the ground to make sure the talks, set to resume sometime in May, have the best possible chance of success.