MOSCOW. Aug 21 (Interfax) - Russian, Turkish and Iranian experts are planning consultations on a de-escalation area in Syria's Idlib in the coming days, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
"The guarantor countries are due to meet at the expert level very soon, before the end of this month or in early September. As you know, we will be preparing the next international meeting in Astana after that to discuss the outcome of the experts' work and, hopefully, to support it," Lavrov said at a joint press conference with the Egyptian foreign minister.
Syria's de-escalation areas are the issue discussed by three guarantor countries - Russia, Turkey and Iran, which approved the areas' concept within the Astana process framework, Lavrov said. 'The process, I mean de-escalation in the Idlib area, has not been easy for obvious reasons," he said.
"Work goes on, the negotiations are complicated for clear reasons, but we continue to exert our efforts, primarily at the level of our military supported by diplomats," Lavrov said.
"The current objective is an agreement between forces opposed to governmental troops in that area. The agreement should pertain to the area's configuration and the provision of security on its future perimeter," he said.