Russia is open to the concept of “safe zones” in Syria, but only if they are approved by Bashar al-Assad.

Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, said he had briefly discussed the US-backed plan with Donald Trump’s administration and was told specifics were still being worked out.

“We believe that any such initiatives concerning the territory of Syria need to be coordinated with the Syrian government - otherwise it would be hard to implement them,” he said at a news conference.

Donald Trump ‘open to working with Moscow’ to fight Isis in Syria

“Having described our understanding of what we can talk about, we are waiting for clarifications from Washington.

"We are also ready to discuss other proposals concerning our cooperation in Syria."

Syria's state news agency said that any attempt to establish safe zones in the country without coordination with Damascus would be a violation of national sovereignty.

Mr Lavrov met Rex Tillerson, the US Secretary of State, at the Munich Security Conference in Germany following a speech where he called for a “post-West world order”.

Russia has been at loggerheads with the US, Britain and much of the West over its support for Assad’s government in the Syrian civil war.

The country’s air power and deployment of “military advisors” on the ground has been key to reversing gains made by rebels, including in the battle for Aleppo.

In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Show all 19 1 /19 In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Syrian boys cry following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Aleppo Getty In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russian defense ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov speaks to the media in Moscow, Russia. Konashenkov strongly warned the United States against striking Syrian government forces and issued a thinly-veiled threat to use Russian air defense assets to protect them AP In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Syrians wait to receive treatment at a hospital following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Alepp Getty In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov speaks at a briefing in the Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia. Antonov said the Russian air strikes in Syria have killed about 35,000 militants, including about 2,700 residents of Russia AP In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Jameel Mustafa Habboush, receives oxygen from civil defence volunteers, known as the white helmets, as they rescue him from under the rubble of a building following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Aleppo Getty In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Civil defence members rest amidst rubble in a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria Reuters In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria A girl carrying a baby inspects damage in a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria Reuters In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Civilians and civil defence members look for survivors at a site damaged after Russian air strikes on the Syrian rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria Reuters In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Civilians and civil defence members carry an injured woman on a stretcher at a site damaged after Russian air strikes on the Syrian rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria Reuters In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Volunteers from Syria Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, help civilians after Russia carried out its first airstrikes in Syria In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria The aftermath of Russian airstrike in Talbiseh, Syria In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Smoke billows from buildings in Talbiseh, in Homs province, western Syria, after airstrikes by Russian warplanes AP In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russian Air Forces carry out an air strike in the ISIS controlled Al-Raqqah Governorate. Russia's KAB-500s bombs completely destroy the Liwa al-Haqq command unit In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy firing Kalibr cruise missiles against remote Isis targets in Syria Â© TASS/ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russia claimed it hit eight Isis targets, including a "terrorist HQ and co-ordination centre" that was completely destroyed In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria A video grab taken from the footage made available on the Russian Defence Ministry's official website, purporting to show an airstrike in Syria In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria A release from the Russian defence ministry purportedly showing targets in Syria being hit In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russia launched air strikes in war-torn Syria, its first military engagement outside the former Soviet Union since the occupation of Afghanistan in 1979. Russian warplanes carried out strikes in three Syrian provinces along with regime aircraft as Putin seeks to steal US President Barack Obama's thunder by pushing a rival plan to defeat Isis militants in Syria In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy firing Kalibr cruise missiles against remote Isis targets in Syria, a thousand kilometres away. The targets include ammunition factories, ammunition and fuel depots, command centres, and training camps Â© TASS/ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis

Vladimir Putin characterised the launch of his intervention in 2015 as an operation against Isis and jihadis but observers have accused the Russian air force of committing war crimes by bombing civilian areas controlled by opposition groups.

Barack Obama strongly criticised Russia’s tactics but Donald Trump has been more evasive on the issue, having repeatedly praised the Russian President during his campaign and vowed to improve relations strained by Syria and Ukraine.

The US President has supported the idea of “safe zones” to prevent refuges from leaving Syria, telling a rally of supporters in Florida they would be funded by Gulf nations.

“We’re going to have the Gulf states pay for those safe zones, they have nothing but money,” Mr Trump said.

“And we’re going to do it that way instead of taking massive numbers, tens of thousands of people into our country.”

Donald Trump supported the idea of 'safe zones' at a supporters' rally in Florida Getty Images) (Getty Images)

He discussed the plan with King Salman of Saudi Arabia in January, who reportedly agreed that safe zones were the best way forward in Syria and Yemen, although no concrete plans have emerged.

Mr Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said the American and Russian presidents discussed possible cooperation on fighting terrorism along with economic issues in a phone call last month.

The Obama administration assessed the prospect of no-fly zones in Syria to protect civilians from Syrian government air strikes but Russia’s intervention raised the threat that moves to enforce restrictions could trigger a military confrontation between the two countries.

Concerns have also been raised about the logistics of installing the ground forces and air power needed to protect such areas and the cooperation it would require between warring factions.

“Safe areas” were previously set up in Bosnia in the 1990s war, intended to protect Muslim communities from Serb attacks in six designated districts sheltered by UN peacekeepers and air power.

A UN report at the time said the goals included limiting “loss of life and property, deterring aggression, demonstrating international concern and involvement, setting the stage for political negotiations and facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid”.

One of the zones was Srebrenica, where a Bosnian Serb militia slaughtered thousands of men and boys in an 11-day campaign of genocide in July 1995.