Gatilov: It Should be Understood that Fight against Terrorist Threat is Going on

MOSCOW-Russia is not planning to put pressure on Damascus to meet some parties’ demand that the Syrian Arab army forces stops the fighting near Aleppo, as they are facing terrorists there, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told Interfax.

“No we are not putting any pressure, because it should be understood that the fight against the terrorist threat is going on,” Gatilov said. “The situation in Aleppo lies within the framework of the fight against the terrorist threat,” he said.

 “And this doesn’t depend in any way on the negotiating process, because the UN Security Council resolution endorsing the Vienna agreements and the ceasefire documents says clearly that the fight against terrorism will be continued, and it says clearly who the opponents are: these are ISIS, Jabhat al-Nusra [banned in Russia] and other terrorist organizations included in the Security Council lists,” he said.

“We are trying now to add two more to them, of which we said earlier, namely Jaysh al-Islam and Ahrar ash-Sham,” he said.

The “High Negotiations Committee” has demanded that Damascus stop fighting near Aleppo, warning that, “if this does not happen, the negotiating process might be disrupted.”