Russia Concerned Over US Attempts To Fuel Tensions Around Syria's Idlib - Foreign Minister

Moscow is worried by US attempts to fuel tensions around the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, as these steps resemble the policy of the administration of former US president Barack Obama, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesda

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th July, 2019) Moscow is worried by US attempts to fuel tensions around the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, as these steps resemble the policy of the administration of former US president Barack Obama, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday.

"We are very much concerned over the position of the United States and its closest allies on the developments in Idlib, over constant attempts to escalate tensions and to call for non-implementation of the Russian-Turkish memorandum that envisages eliminating terror threat in Idlib," Lavrov said at a press conference, held after talks with Marcel Amon-Tanoh, the foreign minister of Cote d'Ivoire.

"This is very much similar to the policy that the Obama administration used to pursue in Syria and that included one strongly negative element, that of abstaining from 'touching' Jabhat al-Nusra [terrorist organization, banned in Russia]. We now see the same in the context of Idlib," Lavrov added.

Russia has grounds for believing that Washington's policy reflects its desire to make Jabhat al-Nusra a participant of the peace negotiations, Lavrov stated, qualifying this approach as a "delayed-action mine."