MOSCOW, July 27. /TASS/. Moscow is satisfied as a whole with the way Syria’s de-escalation zones are being established, although much work lies ahead.
"[We see this] in a positive light," Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked to comment on the progress in implementing the agreements to establish the de-escalation zones in Syria. He admitted though that there are difficulties in this work. "However, positive dynamics is observed in the areas where these zones have begun operating," he stressed.
According to the Kremlin spokesman, "work on two more de-escalation zones is to be continued." "However, in general we view this positively," he noted.
On May 4, Russia, Iran and Turkey agreed to set up four de-escalation zones in Syria. Under a memorandum signed at the talks in Astana, these four zones include the Idlib province and some areas in the neighboring provinces (Aleppo, Latakia and Hama), an area north of Homs, the Damascus suburb of East Ghouta, and two provinces in southern Syria - Daraa and Quneitra. The agreement envisages a ban on combat operations, including flights by military aircraft. The memorandum will be in effect for six months and can be extended automatically for the same period of time.
Sergey Rudskoi, Chief of the Russian General Staff’s Main Operations Directorate, earlier said that representatives of the Russian Defense Ministry and moderate Syrian opposition reached an agreement on the operation of the East Ghouta de-escalation zone at a meeting in Egypt. Two checkpoints of the Russian military police and four observation posts have already been deployed to the area.