Lavrov: Syrian Army Operation in Khan Sheikhoun not Violating any Agreements

MOSCOW, (ST)- Terrorists in Syria’s Idleb can’t be allowed to continue targeting residential neighborhoods, Syrian army positions and the Russian Hmeimim airbase, Lavrov said on Monday, stressing that  the Syrian army operation in the town of Khan Sheikhoun does not violate any agreements, including agreements between Russia and Turkey on the formation of the de-escalation zone in Idlib.

Lavrov told a news conference after talks with his Angolan counterpart Manuel Domingos Augusto that the ceasefire agreement did not apply to terrorist groups from the very beginning.

 He affirmed that the elimination of the terrorist hotbed in Khan Sheikhoun by the Syrian army is legitimate and necessary from the point of implementing the tasks set by the UN Security Council to resolve the crisis in Syria.

Lavrov went on to say that Western media outlets are distorting facts about the humanitarian situation in Syria. He called on the international community and MSM to depend in their reports on facts and events on the ground not on claims by some parties like the so-called “White Helmets” terrorist group which is known for falsifying facts.

Concerning the situation in the Syrian Jazira region in the northeast of the country, Lavrov reiterated that the US administration’s schemes in this region target the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria and violate the international laws and the Security Council resolutions that themselves provide for preserving Syria’s integrity and sovereignty.

Elsewhere in the news conference, Lavrov said that the United States has warned participants in the upcoming Damascus International Fair of sanctions.

“We have heard that the United States threatens participants in this exhibition with sanctions, saying that any presence at this event would mean support to the Syrian government,” he said.

“It is a familiar rhetoric we hear in respect of Syria and a number of other countries which have their own stance rather than dance to someone else’s tune,” he added, according to Itar Tass.

The fair is due to open on August 28 and it will last till September 6th.

Hamda Mustafa