Russia, Iran and Turkey to step up cooperation to stabilize situation in Syria

Russia will step up its cooperation with Turkey, Iran and other countries of the region to resolve urgent issues in Syria, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in the Russian parliament.

"Thanks to the coordinated efforts, primarily via military agencies, it was possible to liberate Aleppo from extremists, then introduce the cessation of hostilities on the basis of the agreement of December 29 last year," Sputnik cited Lavrov as saying.

According to a joint statement of Russia, Iran and Turkey issued following Syrian peace talks in Astana on Tuesday, the countries agreed to create a trilateral group on monitoring the Syrian ceasefire.