US Has All Information on Syria De-Escalation Memorandum - Russian Deputy FM

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, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Sputnik on Saturday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Friday, Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said that the Russian military had not communicated the US side and he was not aware of the issues related to the memorandum, such as ban on flights of the US aircraft in the de-escalation zones in western Syria. At the same time, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said that the flights by US-led coalition aircraft over the de-escalation zones were being discussed by military officials.

"As for military and technical aspects of the issue I can confirm the words that have already been repeatedly voiced, including by the officials from the defense ministry: we have suspended the effect of the deconflicting memorandum after the US strike on the [Syrian] Ash Sha’irat 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.

Representatives of the countries-guarantors of the truce in Syria (Russia, Iran, Turkey) signed on May 4 a memorandum on the creation of four zones of de-escalation in Syria, which include the province of Idlib and seven other regions. According to the memorandum, any clashes between the government forces and opposition armed groups cease starting May 6.