PRESS RELEASE
Lavrov: U.S. Starting To Realize Need for Coordination in Syria
March 28, 2017 (EIRNS)—Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, yesterday, that he thinks that while coordination with the United States in Syria leaves much to be desired, the U.S. administration is starting to realize that the situation needs to change. In response to a question during a joint press conference with the foreign minister of Italy yesterday, Lavrov noted the complexity of the situation in Syria because of the number of interests operating there. He also noted that in September of 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin had suggested at the UN General Assembly that there should be a united, universal international front against terrorism.
"Today this principle is as relevant as never before in Syria," he said.
"To reiterate: We want both those invited by the legitimate Syrian Government and those who are in Syria without its invitation but have declared that their aim is fighting terrorism to start coordinating their actions. This includes coordination with the Syrian Government."
Lavrov reported that Russia is trying to develop coordination mechanisms through the Astana process and other avenues, including with the United States.
"So far, coordination leaves much to be desired," he said.
"We have reason to believe that our partners, including the Americans, are beginning to realize the need for remedying this situation. Let us hope that all of us will be driven by the well-understood priority to fight terror rather than gain geopolitical advantages in Syria."
At the Defense Ministry, Col. Gen. Sergey Rudskoy, the chief of the Russian General Staff’s Main Operations Department, told reporters during a regular briefing, this morning, that the U.S.-led coalition is destroying critically important infrastructure in Syria.
"An impression is being created that the international coalition has set the goal of fully destroying critically important infrastructure facilities on the territory of Syria and maximally complicating the country’s postwar reconstruction,"
he said, according to TASS.
"The biggest concern is caused by the coalition’s air strikes on the Euphrates Dam west of Raqqa. The latest such air strike was delivered on March 26,"
he said.
