Putin, Top Security Officials Discuss Syria, Russia-US Relations Ahead of Trump-Lavrov Meeting

MOSCOW- Russian President Vladimir Putin and permanent members of the Russian Security Council have discussed the Russian-US relations with reference to the upcoming meetings between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State RexTillerson and US President Donald Trump, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

 “The issue of bilateral Russian-US relations was raised at the meeting in light of the contacts between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and American counterparts planned later today,” Peskov said, as quoted by Itar Tass.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Lavrov who has arrived in the United States for a three-day visit will hold talks with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday. Russia’s top diplomat will be also received by US President Donald Trump. After that, Lavrov will travel to Alaska where he will take part in a ministerial meeting of the Arctic Council on May 11.

“An exchange of views took place on the progress in establishing the de-escalation zones in Syria in light of the relevant agreement reached at a meeting in Astana,” he said.

Last week, the Russian, Iranian and Turkish delegations had reached an agreement on establishing four de-escalation zones in Syria during the talks in Astana. These zones include the Idlib province, some parts of the neighboring Aleppo, Latakia and Hama provinces, the area north of Homs, East Ghouta and Syria’s southern provinces of Daraa and Quneitra. Under the agreement, a ban on military operations, including aviation flights, has been imposed in these de-escalation zones as of May 6.

 The memorandum is to be in force for six months with the possibility of automatic extension for the same period.

H.M