President Vladimir Putin says Russia's military action in Syria has achieved a key goal of securing the country's state structures.
Putin told a media forum in St. Petersburg on Thursday that the Russian air campaign, which began on Sept. 30, helped strengthen the Syrian state. He said it's essential to prevent the collapse of the Syrian state to stem the flow of refugees to Europe.
The Russian leader also says the Syrian army has continued to make advances against the Islamic State group, even though Russia pulled out some of its warplanes from Syria last month.
Putin hailed contacts between Russia and the United States in securing a Syria cease-fire, which was brokered by Moscow and Washington and which began on Feb. 27. The IS and Syria's al-Qaida branch known as the Nusra Front are excluded from the truce.
For his part, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said on Thursday that the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was not being discussed at the moment, RIA news agency reported.
"No one is talking about any personalities now," Gatilov said. "This is why this question about the future - who will be the president and how it will all look like - is first of all an issue (expected) as a result from intra-Syrian negotiations."
On another note, UN mediator Staffan de Mistura said on Thursday he would travel to Damascus and Tehran and meet other regional officials to seek a common understanding on Syria's political transition, delaying the start of a round of peace talks by two days.
De Mistura said he had already heard some interesting ideas from Russia and would also consult Turkish, Saudi, Jordanian and Lebanese officials before the talks resume on April 13. He had previously aimed for a start date of April 9 and then April 11.