Russia and the United States continue discussing the situation in Syria in a round-the-clock mode and are preparing a joint project on the southern zone of de-escalation, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said at the upper house of parliament, the Federation Council.

"We did not halt contacts and cooperation with them, this is also happening almost in a round-the-clock mode, we are talking with them during the day and the night, and we are meeting at different venues," Shoigu was quoted by TASS News Agency as saying on Wednesday.

"A great work is underway with them," Shoigu said. "We would like it to be completed and presented as a project ready for implementation. But we are working with them and working, naturally, on the southern zone of de-escalation," the minister said.

"What has been done in Geneva, to my mind, is the maximum of what is possible. We would like work on Syria’s constitution and its future to start at these talks or at the Astana conference," the minister said.

"We would like to discuss issues on the constitution itself and the machinery for adopting the constitution. This envisages a new mechanism for electing the parliament and the Syrian leadership," Shoigu said.

Source: MENA