Moscow, SANA – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the memorandum on the de-escalation zones in Syria matches with the U.S. initiatives put forward at the beginning of this year.

In a press statement on Saturday, Lavrov added that President Vladimir Putin of Russia told his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump ahead of the beginning of the fourth round of Astana talks about the measures that should be taken regarding the crisis in Syria, noting that these measures came in line with proposals submitted by the United States at the beginning of this year, on providing appropriate conditions to ensure the safety of civilian population and halt fighting.

In a relevant context, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that “Russia and other countries-guarantors of memorandum on the de-escalation zones in Syria have provided the United States with all the information on the document.”

Ryabkov’s statement came in response to Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis who stated that the Russian forces had not communicated the US side regarding issues related to the memorandum on de-escalation zones in Syria and that the US knew nothing about it.

Sputnik quoted Ryabkov as saying that “As for military and technical aspects of the issue, I can confirm the words that have already been repeatedly voiced: we have suspended the effect of the de-conflicting memorandum after the US strike on the Syrian al-Shairat airbase.”

“However a certain exchange of information has continued depending on the situation. With regard to the decisions and agreements that had been worked out in Astana and formalized in the relevant memorandum, a high-ranking representative of the US Department of State, Stuart Jones, was in Astana, participated in meetings and had been provided with the information to the full extent,” Ryabkov said.

R.Raslan/Mazen