Lavrov: Failure of Russia-US Agreements on Syria Must be Prevented

MOSCOW  — Russia believes it is important to prevent the failure of Russia-US agreements on Syria, which could be used as a platform for coordination of international efforts in the fight against terrorism in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday, Sputnik reported.

In a speech dedicated to the celebration of the Islamic New Year on October 3, Lavrov said: “We are convinced that the strict implementation [of these agreements] could help establish efficient coordination in fight against terrorism, strengthen the ceasefire regime and expand access to civilian population in need of humanitarian aid.”

 In the same context and in a joint press conference with the Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhon, Lavrov said “Russia is concerned about attempts by some countries and parties to act contrary to UN Security Council resolutions on Syria.”

“We are also seriously concerned about what is happening in Syria, how the UN Security Resolutions are carried out in their entirety. We are concerned about some stakeholders’ both inside and outside Syria attempts to act contrary to the UN Security Council decisions,” Lavrov clarified.

Russia Wants to Remove Ambiguity in Contradictory US Statements on Syria

Lavrov also said that Moscow would like to remove ambiguity in contradictory statements and actions on the part of the United States on Syria.

“the US colleagues’ statements and actions are characterized by well-known inconsistency,” Lavrov said. “[Russia would like to] remove any ambiguity, especially since they directly affect our cooperation with the US in implementing Russian-US agreements.”

Lavrov observed that the Russian-US agreements on Syria were “in limbo.” “The agreements are now in limbo because of the lack of clarity in the way Washington perceives the approaches of a number of opposition groups,” he explained.

Gatilove: Syrian Opposition Consolidates Alliance with Jabhat al-Nusra

Meantime, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said that the “opposition” in Syria has consolidated its alliance with Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group and this alliance has become evident

He noted that the “merging into each other, and many of them moving into Nusra’s ranks…does not ease the situation.” “The fact that the opposition has strengthened its alliance with Nusra is becoming increasingly evident to us,” Gatilov said at a conference hosted by the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency.

Accusing Russia of Airstrikes on Syrian Hospitals Groundless

Gatilov described as groundless accusing Moscow of conducting airstrikes on hospitals and humanitarian convoys in Syria.

“It is not in Russia’s interests to bomb a humanitarian convoy. We had been seeking to achieve this aim for a long time — we had worked with the United Nations and the Syrian government. We made great efforts to facilitate the movement of that aid convoy to the city of Aleppo,” Gatilov said.

 “Accusations that Russia allegedly carries out strikes on medical facilities, hospitals, schools, all this is also baseless,” he added, according to Sputnik.

On September 19, a deadly attack hit a joint UN-Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoy carrying humanitarian aid for Syria’s Aleppo province. The tragic incident claimed scores of lives and destroyed some trucks.

“[The opposition] was in fact the one to generally threaten consequences if the convoy was sent down the [Castello] road. Therefore, saying that Russia has some responsibility here is at least baseless,” Gatilov said at a press conference hosted by the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency.

Deployment of Peacekeeping Mission to Syria Unlikely – Russian Deputy FM

 Gatilov expressed doubts that it would be possible to send a peacekeeping mission, in particular of the United Nations to Syria.

“It is hard to imagine the possibility of any peacekeepers being sent there,” he told the press conference.

H.M