MOSCOW, August 1. /TASS/. Moscow and Washington should continue their contacts aimed at resolving the Syrian crisis, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told TASS on Tuesday.

When asked if souring relations between Russia and the United States were affecting the process of the Syrian settlement, the senior diplomat said that "until now, we have been in contact with the Americans, particularly as far as the setup of de-escalation zones in southern Syria is concerned."

"Now, there is a small pause, but I would like to hope that in the future, our cooperation aimed at eliminating the terrorist threat in Syria will continue," Gatilov added. "We believe that every party is interested in that - Russia, the United States and, of course, the Syrian people, who have been facing a serious threat coming from terrorists," the Russian deputy foreign minister pointed out.

Gatilov also said that "we are ready for talks and further contacts and plan to maintain working contacts with our US counterparts regardless of any other factors."