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Sergei Lavrov

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9 Aug, 2015

Russia urges US to include Syria

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Russia says the United States is ‘unprepared’ for including the Syrian government in international plans to counter extremist ISIS. Lavrov says he discussed Putin’s proposal on coordinating efforts against IS during a recent meeting in Qatar with Kerry.

I asked him if it wouldn’t be easier to reach an agreement, to sit down at the negotiating table and discuss everything with the involvement of the Syrian Army. Unfortunately, the Americans are unprepared for that.

Lavrov says he also expressed concern about a U.S. decision to provide air support for Syrian opposition groups fighting against Assad’s government. He said he warned Kerry that some ‘grave mistake,’ such as the accidental bombing of civilians, could

explode the situation to such an extent that nobody would be able to control it.

Lavrov also rejects allegations that the Assad government has undeclared stockpiles of chemical weapons. He says ‘groundless accusations’ must be avoided and gave his ‘guarantee’ that all the claims ‘will be double-checked.’

We have every reason to believe that the Syrian government will continue cooperating closely.