Russia has announced that it may deploy troops to de-escalation zones in Syria after agreement from Turkey and Iran.
Russian negotiator Alexander Lavrentyev made the announcement during talks being held in the Kazakh capital Astana on Tuesday.
"Overall, (the agreement) provides for the presence of Russian military police in the buffer zones, but once again this matter has not been agreed yet...Depending on when the documents on safe zones are signed, I think one should expect concrete measures on the deployment of forces within 2-3 weeks," he said.
The final document pertaining to the de-escalation zones are expected to be signed on Wednesday, he added, noting that the principles of the zones have already been agreed upon in the former rounds of the talks.
In May, Russia, Iran and Turkey agreed to establish four "de-escalation zones" in Syria.
Lavrentyev added that Russia and its partners are still engaged in negotiations concerning detailed maps and other conditions related to the Idlib province and southern regions while the borders of two other zones, in Homs province and near Damascus, had been agreed upon.
The fifth round of Astana talks kicked of earlier on Tuesday.
More than 2.5 million people are believed to be living in the general area of the four zones.
The Syrian army unilaterally announced a halt to fighting until midnight July 6 in one of the zones that spans the southern provinces of Dara'a, Quneitra, and Sweida.
At Damascus' request, Iran has been providing military advisory support to the Syrian military in its counterterrorism operations. Russia has been carrying out an aerial campaign in Syria, similarly in coordination with Damascus, since September 2015 to further boost the military's anti-terror fight.
Last month, Iran also launched six medium-range ground-to-ground ballistic missiles at the Daesh-held Syria town of Dayr al-Zawr in retaliation for the recent terror attacks in the capital Tehran.
Different foreign-backed terrorist groups have been wreaking havoc in Syria since 2011. Over the past few months, Syrian forces have made sweeping gains against Takfiri elements, who have lately increased their acts of violence across the country following a series of defeats on the ground.
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/7408
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