Syrian peace process

The setting up of a de-escalation zone in southern Syria will be completed in the near future, Russia's foreign minister claimed on July 21. 

"The process of creating the zone continues. The main parameters have already been agreed," Sergey Lavrov was quoted as saying by Russia's official
TASS news agency. 

Syria's government and opposition meet on July 10 for a seventh round of UN-sponsored peace talks with little expectation of a breakthrough to end the six-year conflict.

The talks in Geneva open after a ceasefire took effect in three provinces in southern Syria on Sunday, with a monitor reporting that the region was mostly quiet despite scattered violations.

A ceasefire deal for southwestern Syria took effect at 11:00 a.m. on July 9, the latest international attempt at peacemaking in the country's six-year war. 

The United States, Russia and Jordan reached a ceasefire and "de-escalation agreement" on Friday meant to halt fighting between Syrian government forces and rebel groups in the southwest.

U.S. officials say the United States and Russia have reached an agreement for a cease-fire in southwest Syria.
The cease-fire is set to take effect July 9 at noon Damascus time. Word of the cease-fire has emerged as President Donald Trump is meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Powerbrokers Russia, Iran and Turkey focused July 4 on shoring up a plan for safe zones in Syria at a fifth round of talks they are pushing in Kazakhstan to help end the six-year conflict.    

Representatives from three guarantor countries - Turkey, Russia and Iran - will come together in Astana on July 4 and 5 in a bid to conclude works to establish "de-escalation zones" inside Syria and to detail peace monitoring mechanisms in the war-torn country. 

Russian-backed peace talks on Syria in Astana have been pushed back, organizers said on June 8, as key players wrangle over the future of fragile safe zones in the war-torn country.

The sixth round of Syria talks in Geneva on May 19 concluded in failure as there was no progress on any issue for a political solution to the Syrian crisis.

The latest round of talks was expected to focus on four topics: the constitution, governance, elections, and fight against terrorism.

The United Nations still has a "million questions" about a Syria deal struck last week by Russia, Turkey and Iran, with aid convoys almost totally stalled despite a reported reduction in the fighting, a U.N. aid official said on May 11.

The United Nations mediator for Syria said  yesterday he would hold talks with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov in Geneva on April 24, and that the United States had declined to take part in any trilateral meeting for now.