Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a press conference in Washington DC on May 10 (Photo: AFP/ VNA)

While meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Sunday, Mr. Lavrov called on the US, and regional players such as Turkey, Iran and the Persian Gulf States, to influence conflicting sides in Syria and encourage them to implement UN Security Council resolutions, which require talks, development of a new constitution and election preparations. But Mr. Lavrov said agreement on a resolution is much easier than implementation as there remains too many complexities in Syria. Mr. Lavov said the 4 existing de-escalation zones in Syria are expected to be expanded into more areas in the future.