MNA� The establishment of safe zones in Syria proposed by Russia and signed by it in a memorandum alongside two co-guarantors Turkey and Iran could impact at least 2.6 million people, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said Thursday."When you talk about�four of�the de-escalation areas, this has the potential of�affecting�� hopefully positively from�a humanitarian point of�view�� at�least 2.6 million people," de Mistura said at�a briefing in�Geneva.

The May round�of the Astana talks resulted in�a memorandum signed�by�the Syrian ceasefire guarantor states (Russia, Iran, Turkey) aimed at�creation of�four zones of�de-escalation in�Syria, which include the province of�Idlib and seven other regions. Any clashes between�the government forces and opposition armed groups must stop within�the zones.

The memorandum�on�de-escalation zones�took effect�on�May 6.

Russia's deputy defense minister said on�May 5 that the implementation of�the memorandum on�de-escalation zones�would put an end to�the civil war.

De Mistura confirmed that the next round�of "businesslike" intra-Syrian talks in�Geneva will be held on�May 16 with�a target end date of�May 19.

"Let us confirm that we are preparing the intra-Syrian new round�of talks next week. They will be starting on [May] 16. We are aiming as�a target toward [May] 19," he said.

He said the talks aimed to "hit the iron while it's hot" following�the May 3-4 Astana talks attended by�the UN.

"There have been some outcomes which we find extremely potentially promising," de Mistura said, referring to�the ceasefire and de-escalation zones memorandum signed by�guarantors Russia, Turkey and Iran in�the Kazakh capital.

He told reporters "we are getting into�what we hope [is a] more businesslike type of�approach," vowing to�elaborate on�the logistics of�the next round�of Geneva talks on�Monday.

The civil war in�Syria has been lasting for�around six years with�government troops fighting against�numerous opposition factions and terror organizations such as�al-Nusra Front�and ISIL.

The�nationwide Syrian ceasefire regime�was introduced on�December 30, 2016. Terrorist organizations are not part of�the ceasefire.