(VOVworld) – The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US State Secretary John Kerry had a phone conversation on Sunday, praising the "real progress" in ensuring a cessation of hostilities in Syria.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (left) and US Secretary of State John Kerry (Photo: AFP/ VNA)

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in an online statement that the two sides expressed an overall positive assessment of real progress made in achieving a truce on Syrian soil, which is being generally respected and has already led to a sharp decrease in the levels of violence. Lavrov and Kerry stressed the need to prevent any delay of intra-Syrian talks under UN auspices, as well as to provide humanitarian aid to blocked areas. They said it was essential to ensure from the very beginning the participation, along with the Syrian government, of a wide spectrum of all opposition forces, including Syrian Kurds.