Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during the plenary session of the Arctic Council meeting in Fairbanks, Alaska, on May 11, 2017.

:: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that he would seek to enforce the expansion of disengagement zones in four areas across Syrian territory.

Lavrov said in an interview with the Russian Channel 1, that his country had agreed with Turkey, Iran and the Syrian regime, as well as the armed opposition during the last meeting in Astana, on a memorandum to develop a safe zone initiative proposed earlier by US President Donald Trump and extend it to include all of Syrian territory.

This comes at a time when the regime forces continue their systematic displacement of civilians and fighters from areas under the control of the Syrian opposition.

The neighborhood of Qaboun in Damascus witnessed on Sunday the exit of about 2,000 civilians and fighters, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

It also comes before the start of the Geneva 6 negotiations, which will be held on Tuesday, with uncertainty regarding the participation of the Syrian regime.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said he does not expect those negotiations to be productive, while Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem noted that the Astana talks stood as an alternative to those in Geneva.