Oct 18, 2017

The United Nations Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura met Wednesday in Moscow with Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu ahead of a fresh round of talks aimed at ending Syria's six-year war.

The officials gathered to "discuss ways of moving from de-escalation zones towards a more stable political settlement in Syria," de Mistura was quoted as saying by a defence ministry statement.

Russia, a key backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has played a major role in the war and in diplomatic efforts to create and monitor four safe zones across the battle-scarred country.

Russia agreed during talks i

n Astana with Iran and Turkey -- who back opposing sides in the conflict -- to create the zones in the northern Idlib province, in central Homs, the Damascus suburb of East Ghouta and in southern Syria.