IRNA - The Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov said on Monday that in the framework of Astana agreements, Tehran, Moscow and Ankara are trying to separate normal opposition from terrorists and bandits.

Lavrov made the remarks in a press conference on Monday.

�We tried to develop this approach during the Obama administration, with Secretary of State John Kerry; we invited military experts and reconnaissance experts. We came to terms on how to separate in practice the patriotic armed opposition from terrorist forces,� The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation reported.

�Regrettably, the United States was unable to implement the agreement reached with the consent of President Vladimir Putin and President Barack Obama. And now we have what we have.�

�Again we have to go back to this principle. We are trying to help to establish this cooperation in Astana; jointly with our Turkish and Iranian partners we are helping to develop practical approaches to separating the normal opposition from terrorists and bandits.�

�We see through this prism the developments involving the Kurdish forces and the American commandos as well as the developments related to the liberation of approaches to the terrorist capital of Syria, Raqqa.�

�So far, coordination leaves much to be desired. We have reason to believe that our partners, including the Americans, are beginning to realize the need for remedying this situation.�

�Let us hope that all of us will be driven by the well-understood priority to fight terror rather than gain geopolitical advantages in Syria.�

The first round of multilateral Astana talks was held on January 23-24 on the initiative of Iran, Russia and Turkey, attended by the Syrian government�s representatives as well as dissident groups.

The second round of the Astana talks took place on February 15-16, with the participants agreeing to set up a ceasefire monitoring group, encompassing Iran, Russia and Turkey, that would report to the United Nations.

The third meeting involving the Iranian, Russian and Turkish and the UN delegations was held on February 16. The US and Jordan participated in it as observers.

Creating working group to discuss new draft constitution of Syria, reinforcing truce and facilitating the negotiations between government and the representatives of 9 armed opposition groups have been followed up during Astana talks.