Russia’s permanent representative at the UN office and other international organizations in Geneva, Gennady Gatilov, said that the upcoming meeting of the guarantors of the cessation of hostilities agreement in Syria will be held in the first half of next August.

Speaking to Russian News Agency of Sputnik, Gatilov said that the new consultations between Russia, Iran and Turkey and UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura are still underway. He added that the meeting will take place in the first half of August following the international meeting on Syria which is due to be held in Sochi on July 30 and 31.

The Russian diplomat said that Moscow has cooperated fruitfully with de Mistura and expects to fully benefit from the outcomes of the Sochi and Astana formulas to push the political process in Syria to the Geneva platform.

Gatilov also affirmed that the attempts to isolate Russia from UN platforms, whether in Geneva or elsewhere, are detrimental to multilateral diplomacy.

He pointed out that as a result of unambiguous overtures by some well-known capitals which resulted from a conscious Western approach aimed at destroying Russia’s domestic and foreign policies, some Western colleagues in Geneva at a number of locations have reduced contact with the Russian delegation.