US-Russian Coalition in Syria Possible If Washington Meets Two Condition

MOSCOW- Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Russia’s Upper House of the Parliament Konstantin Kosachev told Izvestiya that Russia and the United States could be part of a single counterterrorism coalition. He mentioned two conditions that Washington has to meet to make this possible.

  “There are no insurmountable obstacles on this path,” he said. If Washington “primarily aims at tackling terrorism in Syria, then I see nothing that could prevent us from being in a coalition with the United States.”

The Russian senator pointed out that under the Obama administration the United States was focused on a regime change, but Washington could alter its “strategic goals” when Trump’s team comes to power. “This largely corresponds with Trump’s pre-election rhetoric,” Kosachev noted. The US president-elect said “that the United States will no longer meddle in the internal affairs of other countries.”

Kosachev mentioned another necessary prerequisite for Russia joining forces with the United States in a bid to rid Syria of radical groups, including Daesh and al-Nusra Front. This coalition, if it is established, “will fully adhere to international law,” he said.

H.M