Lavrov Exposes that U.S.-Led Coalition Is Deliberately Sparing ISIS in Order To Weaken the Assad Regime
In an interview with the “Vesti.doc” TV program on Rossiya-1, reported Tuesday by TASS, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said:
“The problem around the U.S.-led Coalition is that, despite the fact that they declared its goal in fighting exclusively the Islamic State and other terrorists, and pledged not to take any action against the Syrian army (life has proved they never went back from their words), analysis of the strikes delivered by the United States and its Coalition at terrorist positions over the past year drives us to a conclusion that these were selective, I would say sparing, strikes, and in the majority of cases spared those Islamic State groups that were capable of pressing the Syrian army.”
Referring to the U.S.-led coalition’s “selective strikes” in Syria, Lavrov explained:
“It looks like a cat that wants to eat a fish but doesn’t want to wet its feet. They want the Islamic State to weaken Assad as soon as possible to force him to step down this or that way, but they don’t want to see Islamic State strong enough to take power.”
By contrast, Lavrov pointed out that Russia is waging a consistent and resolute fight:
“We are doing this consistently, and we are not dividing terrorists into those who could help solve some tactical tasks in the hope to end with them later, but are striking out at all who one way or another practice and preach terrorist ideology.”
He also said that he sees no concrete results of the U.S.-led coalition’s air strikes other than
“the expansion of the Islamic State over this time.” Lavrov stressed, “We noted tactical successes when a couple of cities were recaptured in Iraq.”
Lavrov also remarked about the U.S.-led coalition’s “laments” that Russia is allegedly striking at the wrong targets and causing damage to the Syrian government’s moderate opposition, and said that such laments stem from the
“ambiguity that underlies the activity of the U.S.-led coalition: There is a wish not to let terrorists go on the loose, but not to prevent this in the cases when they can weaken the regime.”
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