The Syrian National Dialogue Congress in the Russian city of Sochi is set to hold talks amid a boycott decision from a Syrian opposition delegation.

The congress' participants arrived in Sochi yesterday with the aim of discussing the political process, while the Negotiation High Committee of the Syrian opposition announced the decision to boycott the meeting on Saturday.

The head of the Negotiation High Committee of the Syrian opposition, Nasr al-Hariri, announced the decision to boycott the meeting, saying there was high pressure from their supporters to not attend the meeting. "Recently, we have received comments from our people that we should not attend the conference," said Hariri.

He expressed that as the opposition's delegation, they had positive discussions with the U.N., Russia and Turkey in Vienna while adding that they are planning to continue the political transition meetings in Geneva.

Ahead of the general assembly, the head of the guarantor countries' delegations held talks yesterday. The main agenda of the congress will focus on the election of the constitutional committee. The participation of nearly 1,600 Syrian delegates is expected.

Turkey and Russia, together with Iran, are the guarantor countries that brokered a cease-fire in Syria in December 2016, leading to the Astana talks which run parallel to the U.N.-backed discussions in Geneva to find a political solution to the civil war. The three countries also met in November 2017 to discuss the de-escalation zones in Syria.

In the congress at Sochi, Turkey is represented by Deputy Foreign Undersecretary Sedat Önal. U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura is also attending the summit.

During the preparations for the Syria peace congress, Turkey has strongly stressed that those who have links to the People's Protection Units (PYD) should not attend the congress. It is reported that people affiliated with these terrorist groups were not invited to the congress.

The Sochi congress, brokered by Turkey, Russia and Iran is supposed to bring the warring sides together to find an ultimate solution to the crisis. In relation to the issue, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan previously stressed that in this respect a new Syria would be born at the summit.