US Should Meet Its Commitment to Separate “Moderate” Opposition from Terrorists: Lavrov

MOSCOW- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry discussed the situation in Syria by telephone on Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said.

The conversation took place at the US side’s request.

“The conversation dwelt on the situation in Syria. Sergey Lavrov drew (Kerry’s) attention to the fact that illegal armed units, who are retaining control of the eastern part of Aleppo, have responded to the humanitarian pause established by the Syrian government by firing at civilians who were trying to leave the city and new attacks,” the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed, according to Itar Tass.

 “The sides re-emphasized that the United States should meet its commitment to separate the detachments of US-oriented ‘moderate’ opposition from terror groups,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, both Lavrov and Kerry agreed that experts should be involved in searching for ways of normalizing the situation in Aleppo.

Moscow in Doubt if Separation of “Moderate Opposition” from Terrorists ‘Is Possible’

Earlier on Monday, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stressed that the continuous attacks by terrorist groups on the major routes via which the delivery of humanitarian aid to Aleppo  is possible in addition to the failure to separate between terrorists and “opposition” in the city won’t contribute to resuming the humanitarian pause there.

Peskov told journalists in Moscow that “so far, the separation of the terrorist groups and the so-called moderate opposition has not taken place, and there is need to think if this is possible at all.” He added that no one who undertook these commitments has succeeded in this.

The spokesman has also called to think over if terrorists and “moderate opposition” in Syria can be separated.

Peskov pointed out that over the days of the humanitarian pause, the shelling of checkpoints and attacks on aid convoys particularly on Castello road continued . All this makes the formation of humanitarian convoys or the attainment of humanitarian pause difficult.

“All this does not contribute to pauses, to the process of providing humanitarian assistance or resolving the conflict,” Peskov said, refusing to answer a question on the timeframe for the new stage of Russia’s operation in Syria.

H.M