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On July 4, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the U.S. rarely separates terrorist groups like Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and ISIS from the Syrian opposition in southern Syria. Larove made his statement following a meeting with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi, during which both sides discussed the implementation of the de-escalation agreement in southern Syria.
“We have also pointed out the need for the implementation of agreements on the southern de-escalation zone, deals which were reached by the United States, Russia and Jordan on all aspects, including the continuation of the uncompromising struggle against terrorists from Islamic State and JabhatFatah al-Sham, which control about 40 percent of the southern de-escalation zone,” Lavrov said during a press conference after the meeting, according to the Russian news outlet Sputnik.
Furthermore, Lavrov described the calls to expel Iran from Syria as “unrealistic” and stressed that all sides in the region should be involved in the upcoming settlement in the war torn country.
“It is clear that this is absolutely unrealistic and that it will not be possible to solve regional problems without the participation of its key countries, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and many others,” Lavrov said.
The Russian foreign minister also revealed that he raised that the issue of lifting unilateral sanctions against Syria during his meeting with Safadi. Such a move will improve the economic situation in Syria, thus facilitating the return of refugees, according to Lavrov.
“Russia has also repeatedly noted the need to remove all unilateral sanctions imposed by the Western countries against the Syrian Arab Republic, sanctions that prevent from ensuring normal economic, infrastructure conditions for return of refugees,” Lavrov explained.
The results of Lavrov-Safadi talks will likely have a direct impact on the stand of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in southern Syria, which has rejected several peaceful solutions, so far. This situation may change now due to the Jordanian policy that supports the return of the SAA to the border between the two countries.
