Lavrov: US-led Coalition ’Reluctant’ to Strike al-Nusra in Syria
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"I have a very demanding task now - not to let the list [of terrorist organizations] be reduced," Lavrov said at a news conference on Tuesday.
"I have no reason not to trust [US Secretary of State] John Kerry, but what we see on the ground [in Syria] is that the coalition is very reluctant to strike the positions of the Nusra Front," the minister noted.
He noted that there is much evidence that many of the stakeholders in the Syrian conflict have been increasingly viewing the al-Nusra Front, now rebranded to Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, as a "force which should be preserved to facilitate the change of the regime in Syria" and calling for it to be legalized.
On September 9, the two states agreed on a new ceasefire plan for Syria that includes a ban on government airstrikes in certain areas and cooperation on strikes against militants.
Lavrov said he would demand that the agreement be published in full.
"To ensure there should be no doubts as to how we will go about the business of implementing the agreement in its original form, we have suggested making it public after all. Not keeping it secret, contrary to the wish of our US partners. We have nothing to hide. Everything that is stated there is a matter of agreement," Lavrov said, as cited by TASS news agency.
The truce came into force on Monday evening, with no major violations or civilian casualties reported so far.
According to Lavrov's German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the truce has already resulted in a significant cessation of violence.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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