Some US-sponsored “Moderate Opposition” Groups Joined “Jabhat al-Nusra” Instead of Abiding by “ceasefire”- Lavrov

MOSCOW– Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US State Secretary John Kerry highlighted the need to return to the basic principles of Russia-US agreement on improving the situation in Syria During a phone call on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Ministry said according to Sputnik.

 According to the statement, Lavrov emphasized that some of the so-called “moderate Syrian opposition” groups, sponsored by the United States, joined al-Nusra Front terrorists instead of abiding by the “ceasefire” regime.

Lavrov reiterated Moscow’s call on Washington to fulfill its commitments to separate “moderate opposition” units from terrorist groups.

 “Lavrov and Kerry discussed the opportunity of exerting influence over the situation in Aleppo to improve it by returning to basic principles of Russia-US agreements on Syria,” the ministry said in the statement.

On Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry released part of the text of the Russia-US deal on Syria brokered by Kerry and Lavrov earlier this month over Washington’s failure to implement its part of the agreement. Commenting on the release of the document, the foreign ministry said that it had proposed to make the document public, however, Washington refused to do so. The move caused “some questions about whether the US is sincere or not.”

US Department of State spokesperson John Kirby said that Kerry warned in a phone call with Lavrov that the United States is prepared to suspend bilateral engagement with Russia in Syria unless Moscow takes immediate steps to end operations in the city of Aleppo and reinstate a “ceasefire”.

H.M