US Illegitimate Presence in Syria Contributes to Instability: Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the illegal presence of US military forces in Syria is a source of instability in the country, stressing that any solution to the crisis in Syria must be in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolution 2254, according to Press TV.

 “We share stance on Syria. The Security Council Resolution 2254 has no alternative. It should be fully implemented, and in this context we have informed our interlocutors about the efforts taken in this direction by the guarantor states of the Astana peace process – Russia, Iran and Turkey, including the outcome of the February 14 summit of the Astana format in Sochi,” Lavrov said during a joint press conference with his Omani counterpart Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah in Moscow on Monday, said Press TV.

 Elsewhere in his remarks, Lavrov noted that the presence of American troops in Syria is contributing to instability, and is impeding a political settlement of the nearly eight-year war in the country.

The top Russian diplomat went on to say that US forces are unlawfully deployed to al-Tanf region in southern Syria, training terrorists, who carry out acts of terror across Syria and prevent the return of displaced people in the Rukban refugee camp to their hometowns.

 “We, along with the Syrian government, are calling for this to take place.  But the United States and the extremists, whom it sponsors and are in control of the camp, do not let people leave (the camp),” Lavrov said.

The senior Russian official also urged UN humanitarian envoys to “see that everything is far from being in order” in Rukban and report back their findings to the UN Security Council.

    “We call on the American command and leaders of illegal militant groups in the al-Tanf region to out an end to the forcible keeping of women and children, mostly affected by cold, illness and malnutrition in the camp. All of them will be given necessary assistance,” Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said on February 15 as a humanitarian convoy of the United Nations and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) delivered aid, including medical supplies and basic commodities, to Rukban.

Konashenkov added that Russia and Syria would jointly establish a temporary housing area for the displaced persons leaving the camp.

The UN says about 45,000 people, mostly women and children, are trapped inside the Rukban refugee camp, where conditions are desperate.

Alawi, for his part, underlined the need for a political settlement of the ongoing crisis in Syria, lauding Russia’s efforts to work out a solution to the conflict and secure the return of all displaced Syrians back to their homeland.

H.M