Lavrov: Situation in Syria cannot be resolved without eliminating ISIS, al-Nusra, and other terror organizations

New York, SANA – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov affirmed the need to realize the Security Council’s request to separate the “moderate opposition” from terrorists, and that the responsibility for doing this lies on the United States and its allies.

In a speech at the UN General Assembly on Friday, Lavrov asserted that the situation in Syria cannot be resolved without eliminating ISIS, Jabhat al-Nusra, and the other terror organizations that merged with them, affirming that holding intra-Syrian talks without preconditions cannot be delayed, and any attempt by “external opposition” groups to delay them will have negative repercussions on settlement attempts.

Lavrov also said that there are attempts to shelter Jabhat al-Nusra away from strikes, which is a blatant violation of Security Council resolutions, stressing the need to have objective investigations into the incidents that took place in Deir Ezzor and Aleppo.

On a relevant note, US State Secretary John Kerry said in a statement after meeting Lavrov that a very limited progress was achieved in resolving the differences between the US and Russia on the crisis in Syria.

Meanwhile, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura urged Russia and the US to devise a suitable formula for implementing the agreement between them on Syria as soon as possible, stressing that he will do his best to re-launch work on the agreement.

When asked about a possible date for resuming intra-Syrian dialogue in Geneva, de Mistura said that the talks shouldn’t be delayed past October.

Hazem Sabbagh

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