"We very much hope that in early June there will be another meeting in Astana, where we will be able to approve all provisions of the map on creating security corridors, which according to our proposals should be a kilometer [0.62 miles] between the parties," Shoigu told lawmakers.
At the same time, Russia maintains round-the-clock contacts on Syria with the United States.
"We have not stopped contacts on interactions with them. This also takes place around the clock," Shoigu told upper house lawmakers. "We meet at various venues."
According to the minister, more than 108,000 Syrian refugees returned to their homes this year thanks to Russia's efforts in putting territory under government control.
"In total, with the mediation of the Russian military during the operation, over 105 settlements and 17,000 kilometers [10,000 miles] of territory were returned to the control of the Syrian government. This allowed more than 108,000 refugees to return to their permanent places of residence this year alone," Shoigu said.
