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Lavrov asks why Turkey is bombing US-allied Kurds in Syria

09 December 2015 13:53 (UTC +04:00)

The diplomat reminded, that the Kurdish militia is one of the main forces fighting against Daesh terrorists on the ground in Syria.

The demand for artificially setting a date when Syrian President Bashar Assad should step down run counter to international law and democracy, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Italian media in an interview.

"For the time being partners link the full mobilization of the anti-terrorist potential with Bashar Assad’s resignation," Lavrov said. "There are nuances, though: they no longer demand his disappearance in an instant, they permit his participation in the transitional political process, but they wish to see some deadline, a date when Assad will stop performing his powers."

"The Russian president has responded to these ideas more than once. We believe that this kind of approach is artificial and in conflict with international law and the rules of democracy," Lavrov said.

The diplomat said that Russia regards Turkey’s downing SU-24 warplane as an attempt to derail the political process in Syria. “Our assessment in this regard remains unchanged. We consider that it is an attempt either to disrupt counterterrorism efforts, or to impede Russian operations in the Syrian airspace or to undermine the process of a political solution within Venice negotiations.”

Islamic State can be defeated “quickly enough” if the potential of the US coalition and that of Russia's air force are united, the Russian foreign minister stressed. “IS promotes hatred for humanity. We should prevent their turning into a state and creation of misconceptions about their relations with Islam. They are enemies of humanity,” he noted.