Lavrov says Russian-Turkish agreements on Syria implemented, yet not at desirable pace

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Sputnik on Friday that the Russian-Turkish agreements on the Syrian conflict settlement were being implemented, although not fast enough.
“The land that is controlled by terrorists is gradually narrowing and, first of foremost, this concerns the de-escalation zone in Idlib. Russian-Turkish agreements — including the need to distinguish between members of the armed opposition who are open to dialogue with the government, from terrorists who have been recognized as such by the UN Security Council — are being gradually implemented, although not as quickly as we would like. But our Turkish colleagues are committed to them, and we are actively cooperating with them,” Lavrov said.

The top diplomat noted that during his recent visit to Damascus, Syrian President Bashar Assad confirmed his commitment to the implementation of the agreements reached between the government and the opposition on the initiative of the Astana format talks.

“There are many problems in the Syrian Arab Republic, there are enough of them, nevertheless the situation has significantly stabilized compared to what it was a few years ago, and the activities of the Astana format, our initiative, which we have implemented, played a decisive role in this process,” Lavrov noted.

He went on to say that Syria had now to solve humanitarian problems and revive the economy, which was destroyed by the war.

“We are actively supporting dialogue with other countries in these areas, including with China, Iran, India, and the Arab states. We consider it important to involve UN organizations in activities aimed at mobilizing humanitarian assistance to the Syrian Arab Republic as a priority step,” Lavrov told Sputnik....almasdarnews.com