Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
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Moscow, SANA – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the track for resolving the crisis in Syria is stipulated in the UN Security Council resolution no. 2254, and therefore it isn’t dependent on results of the coming US elections, adding that in the past, many US presidents failed to fulfill the promises they made before winning the elections after they enter the White House.
In an interview given to Russian TV channel Zvezda, Lavrov said that Russia first wants to launch the political process for settling the crisis in Syria in January, and second, it wants the UN to select the delegation representing the opposition as to ensure it represents all sides.
He stressed that the aforementioned resolution states in very clear terms that there’s no place for terrorists at the negotiations table, and Russia questions some of the participants in recent meetings as they represent two terrorists organizations: Islam Army which targets Damascus and even the Russian Embassy with mortars, and Ahrar al-Cham, which is a direct offshoot of Al Qaeda.
Lavrov pointed out to the contradicting Western stances towards President Bashar al-Assad, noting that they considered him a fully legitimate president when it was about disposing of chemical weapons in Syria, but when it comes to the settlement of the crisis the West turns around and insists that it won’t support the process unless there are guarantees that President al-Assad will have no role in the political process.
He also criticized the rude and brazen policy Turkey is adopting towards Iraq, and said that the alleged alliance to fight terrorism announced by Saudi Arabia follows the example of the Washington-led alliance in that it tries to divide governments into legitimate and non-legitimate to suit its own interests.
The Minister asserted that terrorism is no less a threat than chemical weapons, stressing the need to fight the economic causes of terrorism.
Hazem Sabbagh