Russia, Turkey and Iran are close to finalising agreement on creating four de-escalation zones in Syria, a senior Russian negotiator,

Lavrentyev, who led the Russian delegation, told reporters that the three sides were discussing details of the agreement at meetings in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.

“Our main task at this international meeting on Syria is to finalise and establish four de-escalation zones.

“We are very close to reaching an agreement on creating these four zones,” he said.

Lavrentyev said the agreement was likely to include provisions on the deployment of monitors, such as military police servicemen in the four zones and more specifically on their borders.

The previous round of Syrian peace talks in Astana in July ended with no agreement after Turkey raised objections.

Russia and Iran, which back Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government, and Turkey, which supports some of the rebels, have been holding talks in Kazakhstan since January.

However, this week meeting is their sixth.