Guarantors make progress creating de-escalation zone in Idlib

'As for the Idlib province, contacts are underway between the guarantor countries and initiators of the Astana process - Russia, Iran and Turkey,' Lavrov said.

'In the course [of these consultations], we have made considerable progress to agree on the parameters, configuration and methods of ensuring security in the de-escalation zone in the Idlib province,' Lavrov noted. 'I hope we will hear more specific news in the near future.'

Commenting on the recent victories of the Syrian Army, Lavrov said, 'Indeed, it is an important milestone in the war on terror in Syria - the siege of Deir ez-Zor has been broken, where the Syrian troops and civilians remained besieged' by Daesh terrorists for several years.

He added that now that the siege is broken, conditions have been created for achieving another important task, which is the liberation of Deir ez-Zor from terrorists and that the Syrian troops supported by our air force continue its activities aimed at achieving this goal.

Deir ez-Zor was a stronghold of Daesh terrorists and its inhabitants experienced great sufferings during the three-year siege of the city.

On Tuesday, Syrian government troops broke through the defenses of Daesh terrorists on the outskirts of Deir ez-Zor and broke the siege of the city with the help of the Russia’s air force massive airstrike on the main strongholds.