Damascus representative hopes for swift development of mechanism to set up de-escalation zones

ASTANA. May 4 (Interfax) - The format of the fourth round of Astana talks is a leap forward in the negotiating process on Syria, Damascus representative Bashar Jaafari said.

"We believe that the Astana-4 negotiating format was a leap forward in the negotiating process, we consider it successful," Jaafari told journalists in Astana on Thursday.

The Syrian government appreciates Russia's efforts to de-escalate the conflict in Syria, Jaafari said. "We hope our Russian and Iranian friends will give detailed consideration to a mechanism on implementing the memorandum as quickly as possible," he said.