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Conflict in Syria

Russian Foreign Ministry publishes text of memorandum on Syria’s de-escalation zones

The memorandum was signed by Russia, Turkey and Iran at the May 4 meeting on Syria in Astana

© Gennadij Hamel'janin/TASS

MOSCOW, May 6. /TASS/. The Russian Foreign Ministry has published the text of the memorandum on setting up de-escalation zones in Syria signed on May 4. The text of the document was posted on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website on Saturday.

The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the guarantor countries, which signed the memorandum, plan to complete work on the maps of the de-escalation zones by June 4, 2017 and take steps to separate armed opposition units from terrorist groups.

CONFLICT IN SYRIA

The memorandum was signed by Russia, Turkey and Iran at the May 4 meeting on Syria in Astana. The document came into force on the same day.

Memorandum provisions

The de-escalation zones will be set up in four regions of Syria, namely, in the Idlib province and some parts of the neighboring provinces (Aleppo, Latakia and Hama), the area north of Homs, the suburb of Damascus East Ghouta and some provinces in Syria’s southern parts - Daraa and Quneitra. Safe zones will be established at the borders of the areas where checkpoints for the passage of civilians and humanitarian aid and ceasefire monitoring points will be installed.

A ban on military operations, including aviation flights, has been imposed in the de-escalation zones as of May 6. Russia, Iran and Turkey have agreed to make every effort to fight against terrorism both in these areas and beyond.

The countries acting as the ceasefire guarantors will set up a joint working group on de-escalation ten days after signing the memorandum. It will deal with defining the boundaries of the de-escalation zones and safe zones, among other issues. The maps of the designated areas will be drafted by May 27.

The memorandum is to be in force for six months with the possibility of automatic extension for the same period. According to Russian Presidential Envoy on the Syrian settlement, Alexander Lavrentiev, the document could become indefinite.

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Foreign policy Syrian conflict

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