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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in Moscow that political stabilization in the Middle East will aid in joint efforts to destroy the Islamic State [MFA, Russia]
Fresh from the Syria talks held in Astana, Kazakhstan, which Russia said was a concrete step forward to resolving the Syrian war, Lavrov has called on both the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition to jointly battle the Islamic State.
“The Foreign Ministry and the Defense Ministry … held several direct meetings with representatives of the armed opposition, discussing with them the prospects of joint fight against terrorism in Syria, above all, the IS,” Lavrov said.
He said that the Russian air force was ready to work with the Syrian government and armed opposition groups to that end.
There have been a number of battles fought between the Syrian opposition and Islamic State or Al Nusra Front forces. The latter is affiliated with Al Qaeda and considered a rival to the Islamic State.
A December nationwide ceasefire was agreed to by almost all armed Syrian opposition groups, but did not cover Islamic state or Al Nusra Front forces.
Meanwhile, Lavrov said that the Astana talks will pave the way for intra-Syrian negotiations with the February 8 UN-sponsored Geneva peace talks in mind.
He added that Russia, Turkey and Iran were working very closely to ensure a political resolution to the Syria war.
The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
