Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday the situation in the Syrian province of Idlib could not be tolerated indefinitely
Speaking to university students in Moscow, Lavrov stressed importance of separating the “armed opposition from terrorists.”
The Russian Foreign Minister stressed during his speech at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) that “there is no place for terrorists in Syria, and the Syrian government has every right to seek their liquidation on its territory.”
“We are now taking the most active effort, together with our Turkish colleagues, together with the Syrian government, and with the Iranians as participants in the Astana format, to split the armed normal opposition forces from the terrorists ‘on the ground,'” the Russian top diplomat said, according to Sputnik news agency.
On the relations with Washington, Lavrov said will not necessarily give a tit-for-tat response to the new sanctions the US has imposed over Moscow’s alleged involvement in the poisoning of former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
We will definitely respond to this and an announcement will be made in this connection,” Lavrov said, adding: “Our response will not necessarily be a tit-for-tat one. I believe that a tit-for-tat response is not always the best one.”
“Sanctions have been imposed based on totally false allegations. The words ‘highly likely’ are all the British authorities have been able to bring against Russia,” Lavrov pointed out, RIA news agency reported.
“We are not getting hysterical, we do not wish to respond tit for tat,” he said.
“We do respond to sanctions; we introduce retaliatory restrictive measures but in a way that will not be harmful to ourselves. We target specific personalities who have been accelerating this flywheel of Russophobia, which is utterly unnecessary to the Americans, Europe, or ourselves.”.
Lavrov meanwhile, said he believes that the near future of Russian-US relations will be not very bright.
“I believe that the near future of Russian-US relations will be not very bright,” he said. Lavrov voiced the hope that in the final count the relations would get back to the level of true strategic partners.
Source: Agencies
