MOSCOW. July 10 (Interfax) - Russia would welcome the United States' active involvement in developing the concept of de-escalation areas in Syria and is prepared for cooperation in this, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference in Moscow on Monday.
"The U.S. has been represented by observers at all rounds of the Astana process, and these were representatives dispatched from the Department of State, from Washington, at the last two rounds. We welcomed this decision by our American partners," Lavrov said.
"And we will welcome their active engagement, even though they are observers. The latest negotiations in Astana showed that their representative, acting Assistant Secretary of State Stuart Jones, has taken part in the discussion quite substantively and actively," he said.
"So, the doors to our cooperation on further developing the concept of de-escalation areas are actually open here as well," he said.
"We also have stable contacts with our American counterparts on the political process within the framework of the Geneva negotiations, which are resuming today, as well as with the other key countries affecting developments in Syria, including certainly the countries of the region," he said.
"So let's not delude ourselves too much, because this conflict is very complicated, and the positions of too many actors need to be taken into consideration in approaches toward its settlement," he said.
"As is seen from the Russian-U.S.-Jordanian agreements of July 7 [on setting up a de-escalation area in southwestern Syria and declaring a ceasefire there], it is not easy but still possible to reconcile these positions and strike a balance of interests," he said.
"We'll be trying to move ahead on this basis step by step but consistently," Lavrov said.