Syria's warring sides are due to meet in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, in the latest peace effort aimed at ending the country's long-running conflict.
The talks, which are organised by Russia, Turkey and Iran and set to begin at 08:00 GMT on Monday, are expected to focus on consolidating a shaky ceasefire that went into effect on December 30.
It will be the first time a delegation composed exclusively of rebel groups will negotiate with President Bashar al-Assad's government since the war erupted in 2011.
Yet Roman Vassilenko, Kazakhstan's deputy foreign minister, said on Monday morning that that the two sides had yet to agree on face-to-face meetings between their delegations.
"It is still unclear that whether or not the two parties will be in the same room across the same table," Al Jazeera's Mohammed Jamjoon, reporting from Astana, said, adding however that the talks' organisers were putting pressure on the opposing sides to hold direct negotiations.
"The rebels stated that they would like the face-to-face talks to happen, as they are here to try solidify the ceasefire, but they will be placing some conditions before agreeing to anything, including getting assurances on prisoners' release and humanitarian aid."
The meetings in Kazakhstan, which are expected be over by midday on Tuesday, are likely to be followed by United Nations-mediated diplomatic talks in Geneva, Switzerland, on February 8.
Experts say a breakthrough could see some of the armed opposition join the Geneva talks.
"The talks in Astana are not an alternative to the Geneva talks next month, but are an additional step," Vassilenko stated.
Red lines
Bashar al-Jaafari, the head of the Syrian government delegation, told reporters on the plane to Astana on Sunday that the agenda would focus on strengthening last month's ceasefire.
Jaafari played down Turkey's role as a party to the talks, saying they were between Syrians only.
"Turkey is violating Syrian sovereignty so there is no Syrian-Turkish dialogue," he said, a reference to Turkish support for anti-Assad armed groups in the north of Syria.
Syrian opposition officials also said they focused on securing the current ceasefire, and would not be discussing Assad's future during the talks in Astana.
"No one has discussed this [the future of Assad]," Yahya al-Aridi, spokesman for the opposition delegation and adviser to the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) told Al Jazeera on Sunday.
Assad was still a "red line" for the opposition, he explained, adding that there was "no context" for discussing the president's role after a potential political solution.
Although Ankara and Moscow have backed opposing sides of Syria's nearly six-year conflict, they have worked hand-in-hand in recent weeks to try to secure an end to the war.
US President Donald Trump's administration was invited to participate in the talks but did not send a delegation.
Washington will instead be represented by its ambassador to Kazakhstan, according to the State Department.
Staffan de Mistura, the United Nations special envoy for Syria, will also be attending the talks to play a supportive role.
UN envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura on Sunday hailed the talks as a "good initiative", in comments carried by Russian news agencies.
France and Britain will also be represented at the ambassador level, according to a European diplomatic source.
Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed during the war, which initially started when largely unarmed anti-government uprisings against Assad erupted in 2011.
More than 12 million peopleapproximately half of the country's prewar populationhave also been displaced over the course of the war.
Aljazeera