US double standard approach to Syria encourages terrorism

World

 February 20, 19:03 UTC+4 

"In private encounters our US partners admit that terrorism is the key threat in Syria, and not Assad’s regime," Russia's minister of foreign affairs noted

EPA/SERGEI CHIRIKOV

BAGDAD, February 20. /ITAR-TASS/. US officials admit in private conversations that Syria’s main threat is terrorism, and not President Bashar Assad’s regime, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.

Russia's Foreign Ministry: Syria to continue efforts to reach local reconciliation

“We have a range of mechanisms that help us cooperate with the US on many acute issues, including the fight against terrorists,” he said. “Unfortunately, double standards sometimes emerge in our cooperation, and it also happens over the Syrian issue, where our US partners say terrorism will be unbeatable as long as Assad stays in power.”

“In fact, such a position means encouraging extremists, encouraging those who supply weapons to terrorists and ultimately only aggravate the Syrian crisis,” Lavrov believes. “However, in private encounters our US partners admit that terrorism is the key threat in Syria, and not Assad’s regime.”

This understanding, Lavrov added, was achieved at the G8 summit last June when the British prime minister proposed to include in the final declaration the call on the government and the opposition to eradicate terrorism.

“Now we want to see our partners make their high-level statements meet their actions,” Lavrov said.

"Terrorism in Syria poses threat to world order"

The West has an incentive to justify terrorism in Syria by the reason that the regime does not want to disappear, Sergei Lavrov told a news conference on Thursday.

“We’ve submitted our proposals to the UN Security Council. We want the Security Council to adopt a document condemning terrorism in all its manifestations,” Lavrov said, adding that the situation in Syria and terrorism in the region “pose a threat to the world order”.

“The document is being studied by our partners. We disagree with our partners’ position on terrorism. We believe that terrorism cannot be justified,” he said.

“Now the UN Security Council is discussing a resolution on the humanitarian crisis and it includes Russia’s proposals to prevent further escalation of terrorism. We want the Syrian opposition and the government to unite in order to fight the evil,” Lavrov said.

Itartass