Ryabkov : US Unprepared to Separate Terrorists From “Moderate Opposition” in Syria

MOSCOW – The United States turned out to be unprepared to separate terrorist organizations from the so-called “moderate opposition” in Syria, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Tuesday.

 “The Syrian government has embarked on the separation of terrorists from the [moderate opposition] and the civilian population… This is something, as it turned out, that our colleagues in Washington were not ready to do for political reasons, and did not intend to do throughout the past months in defiance of the signals and the promises they gave us,” Ryabkov told RIA Novosti.

 At the samet time, Russia considers it unflattering for the United States to criticize its actions in Syria, Ryabkov said.

“There are regular [Russia-US] contacts along various lines. Both foreign and defense ministries are involved in these contacts. We attribute as unflattering the assessments we hear from our American colleagues,” Ryabkov told RIA Novosti.

According to Ryabkov, Russian-US partnership in Syria cannot be genuine as long as Washington puts forward additional demands.

“We have repeatedly drawn to the Americans’ attention the fact that, after each successful round of closed negotiations and after reaching certain agreements, Washington begins putting forward additional requirements that violate the entire balance and prevent progress immediately afterward,” Ryabkov said.

 He attributed the setback to “the usual American desire to squeeze out for themselves advantages, preferences until the last second.”

“Maybe this is due to the fact that interagency coordination in Washington is not always carried out in a timely manner. It is very difficult to communicate in these circumstances, and a true partnership is out of the question,” Ryabkov stressed.

Washington has been completely inconsistent in its actions in Syria, putting forward demands to stop military operations as soon as the Syrian army has achieved real success in fight against terrorists in Syria, Sergei Ryabkov said.

“As soon as the Syrian government and the armed forces have achieved, with Russian support, a real progress in the fight against terrorists, the Americans began to use unacceptable methods, demanding, in essence, the cessation of the fight against terrorists; they launched…a vociferous campaign in support of the line carried out by the most staunch opponents of the legitimate authorities in Damascus, contrary to their previous commitments,” Ryabkov said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

“It is all so unbecoming,” Rysabkov added.

Source: Sputnik

H.M