MOSCOW, July 5. /TASS/. The situation in Idlib and in northeastern Syria was in the focus of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s talks with United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

"The sides discussed in detail the current situation 'on the ground' in Syria amidst an outburst of terrorist activities in Idlib and ongoing tensions in Syria’s northeastern part. In this context, they stressed the importance of lasting stabilization in and around Syria as grounded in respect to its sovereignty and territorial integrity," the ministry said.

The sides also agreed that it is necessary to continue providing humanitarian assistance to Syria with view to its post-conflict revival and creating proper conditions for the return of Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons to places of their permanent residence.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Lavrov and Pedersen also discussed the developments relating to the political process with a focus on the formation and launch of the Syrian Constitutional Committee. "The sides agreed that the launch of the committee will make it possible to begin a direct intra-Syrian dialogue so that Syrians themselves could decide on the parameters of the final settlement in Syria and on the future of their country, as is envisaged in the United Nations Security Council Resolution No. 2254 and the resolutions of the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi," the ministry noted.