Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned on Monday that establishing a zone for US-backed fighters in Syria in could lead to the division of the war-torn country. “Yesterday, the US announced that it wants to help the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces to set up safe zones,” he said during his annual press conference. This generally means the isolation of a vast area along Turkey’s border with Iraq east of the Euphrates, he warned. The formation of a such a zone is “very dangerous and raises fears that there may be efforts to partition Syria,” added Lavrov. Russia started to withdraw its forces from Syria last month, but Moscow has said it would keep its Hmeimim air base in the Latakia province, as well as its naval facility at Tartus “on a permanent basis”. Commenting on the Iran nuclear deal, Lavrov said that Moscow will not support Washington’s attempts to modify the 2015 agreement that was reached with major powers. He warned that any change will be unacceptable for Tehran and the collapse of the deal could harm dialogue with North Korea. He added that Russia was prepared to support direct dialogue between the sides concerned with the North Korean crisis.