Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during an interview with RIA Novosti and Sputnik in this handout picture provided by SANA on April 21, 2017, Syria. SANA/Handout via REUTERS

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad discussed a forthcoming round of peace talks in the Kazakh capital, Astana, at a meeting with the Russian president’s special envoy on Syria, Sergei Lavrentyev, RIA news agency said on Thursday.