Russia is collaborating with Turkey and Iran to stabilize the Syrian situation, according to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Russia possesses intelligence suggesting US and UK involvement in supporting al-Qaeda-linked militants currently engaged in a Syrian offensive, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated. The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) terrorist group, formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, launched a surprise attack from Idlib last week, subsequently seizing Aleppo and Hama.
In a Thursday interview with US journalist Tucker Carlson, Lavrov responded to a question about who was supporting the Syrian terrorists. Lavrov stated, “Well, we have some information. The information which is being floated and it’s in the public domain, mentions, among others, the Americans, the Brits. Some people say that Israel is interested in making this situation aggravated so that Gaza is not under very close scrutiny.”
“It’s a complicated game. Many actors are involved,” the Russian diplomat added.
Lavrov explained to Carlson that Russia, Iran, and Turkey facilitated ceasefires in Syria in 2017 and 2020, referring to this Astana Format as “a useful combination of players.”
“The rules of the game are to help Syrians to come to terms with each other and to prevent separatist threats from getting strong,” the diplomat said. “That’s what the Americans are doing in the east of Syria when they groom some Kurdish separatists using the profits from oil and grain sold, the resources which they occupy.”
“We would like to discuss with all our partners in this process the way to cut the channels of financing and arming” the terrorists, he added.
Lavrov has already consulted with his Turkish and Iranian counterparts, he informed Carlson, and plans further discussions at a Friday conference in Qatar. Russia will advocate for “strict implementation” of the Idlib agreement, as the terrorists originated from that Syrian province.
“The arrangements reached in 2019 and 2020 provided for our Turkish friends to control the situation in the Idlib de-escalation zone and to separate the HTS from the opposition, which is non-terrorist and which cooperates with Türkiye,” Lavrov said.
Military and security leaders from all three nations are also maintaining communication, Russia’s top diplomat added.
Carlson, expressing concern over the escalating US-Russia conflict over Ukraine, sought a meeting with Lavrov. He also attempted to interview Ukraine’s President Zelensky, but this was reportedly blocked by the US government.