A girl looks at a mirror in a war-shattered neighborhood of east Aleppo City, north Syria, on Dec. 20, 2016. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)

MOSCOW, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- The national ceasefire in Syria is conducive to a better humanitarian situation in the country, the Russian Foreign Ministry was quoted by RIA Novosti agency as saying Saturday.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Syrian Ambassador to Russia Riyad Haddad discussed on Saturday the preparation for the upcoming Astana meeting on a Syrian solution.

"The two diplomats exchanged views on the current situation in Syria and thought that the ceasefire has created conditions for improving the humanitarian situation in the Middle Eastern country," said the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Late last month, Russia and Turkey brokered a nationwide truce between the Syrian government and major opposition groups.

Russia and other potential mediators are expected to meet conflicting parties in Syria in Astana later this month to seek settlement of the chronic civil war, which has claimed more than 300,000 lives and displaced nearly 11 million others.