Moscow seeks coordination in Syria with Washington, denies any violation of UN resolution

Russia is trying to coordinate with the United States in Syria and has denied any violation of UN resolutions in its use of an Iran air base, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"The main task is to finally establish coordination in resolving the Syrian crisis...We are discussing this through military, intelligence and foreign ministries," Lavrov said Wednesday at a press conference after meeting with his New Zealand counterpart Murray McCully in Moscow.

Lavrov said the talks were focused on specific mechanisms to implement agreements reached during a visit by U.S. State Secretary John Kerry to Moscow last month.

He said Moscow and Washington are discussing with the United Nations the possibility of opening additional humanitarian corridors in the northern city Aleppo and its vicinity controlled by the Syrian army and opposition militants.

The two countries were also examining the prospect of increasing control over cargo crossing the Turkish-Syrian border to prevent supplies from reinforcing the terrorists, Lavrov said.

However, the top Russian diplomat added it would have been easier to reach a settlement in Syria if the United States had kept its promise to separate moderate opposition groups from the terrorists.

Meanwhile, Lavrov denied that Russia had violated any UN Security Council resolution in its use of an Iranian air base for its campaign in Syria.

He said Russian warplanes were used with Iran's consent within the framework of an "anti-terrorist operation on the territory of Syria at the request of the legitimate Syrian government."

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said Russian long-range bombers took off from Hamadan air base in Iran to launch strikes against terrorist targets in Syria.

Comments

Why States Still Use Barrel Bombs

Smoke ascends after a Syrian military helicopter allegedly dropped a barrel bomb over the city of Daraya on Jan. 31.(FADI DIRANI/AFP/Getty Images) Summary Barrel bombs are not especially effective weapons. They are often poorly constructed; they fail to detonate more often than other devices constructed for a similar purpose; and their lack of precision means they can have a disproportionate effect on civilian populations. However, combatants continue to use barrel bombs in conflicts, including in recent and ongoing conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, and they are ideally suited to the requirements of resource-poor states. Analysis Barrel bombs are improvised devices that contain explosive filling and shrapnel packed into a container, often in a cylindrical shape such as a barrel. The devices continue to be dropped on towns all over Syria . Indeed, there have been several documented cases of their use in Iraq over the past months, and residents of the city of Mosul, which was re

Russia Looks East for New Oil Markets

Click to Enlarge In the final years of the Soviet Union, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev began orienting his foreign policy toward Asia in response to a rising Japan. Putin has also piloted a much-touted pivot to Asia, coinciding with renewed U.S. interest in the area. A good expression of intent was Russia's hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2012 in Vladivostok, near Russia's borders with China and North Korea. Although its efforts in Asia have been limited by more direct interests in Russia's periphery and in Europe, Moscow recently has been able to look more to the east. Part of this renewed interest involves finding new export markets for Russian hydrocarbons. Russia's economy relies on energy exports, particularly crude oil and natural gas exported via pipeline to the West. However, Western Europe is diversifying its energy sources as new supplies come online out of a desire to reduce its dependence on Russian energy supplies . This has

LONDON POLICE INDIRECTLY ENCOURAGE CRIMINALS TO ATTACK RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC PROPERTY

ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE A few days ago an unknown perpetrator trespassed on the territory of the Russian Trade Delegation in London, causing damage to the property and the vehicles belonging to the trade delegation , Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during the September 12 press briefing. The diplomat revealed the response by the London police was discouraging. Police told that the case does not have any prospects and is likely to be closed. This was made despite the fact that the British law enforcement was provided with video surveillance tapes and detailed information shedding light on the incident. By this byehavior, British law inforcements indirectly encourage criminals to continue attacks on Russian diplomatic property in the UK. Zakharova’s statement on “Trespassing on the Russian Trade Mission premises in London” ( source ): During our briefings, we have repeatedly discussed compliance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, specif

ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Search This Blog