Medvedev: International Coalition’s Anti-ISIL Operations in Syria Should Get Syrian Government’s Approval

MOSCOW- Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev believes that any action by the US-led Coalition against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) should get the approval of the Syrian Government.

“The Syrian government is the only party responsible for protecting the Syrian people,” Medvedev said in an interview with the American CNBC channel yesterday in Moscow.

He pointed out that if the US-led coalition’s anti-terror action in Syria is necessary, then a joint identical stance by concerned parties should be adopted and the action must get the approval of the legitimate government in Syria.

The Russian premier clarified that Moscow’s stance towards the operations of the international coalition against ISIL has nothing to do with the US stance towards Syria, noting that the US has changed its previous stance towards President Bashar al-Assad and it is now seeking contacts with the Syrian state’s leadership.

Medvedev affirmed that “Russia hasn’t given up its duties and hasn’t refrained from cooperation on fighting terrorism, but the mandate for implementing anti-terror operations must be given within the framework of the international law; that is on the basis of a UN resolution and international consensus.”

He warned that what happened in Iraq and Afghanistan should not be repeated in Syria while fighting terrorism.

Russia has repeatedly asserted that the any International coalition’s strikes against terrorist organizations in Syria should get the approval of the Syrian government  and must have an international consensus, because “without  getting an international umbrella, the situation will be more complicated in the region.”

Hamda Mustafa