Lavrov says call for ceasefire in Syria only aimed at allowing "militants" to take breath

All statements on the need for ceasefire in Syria are only aimed at giving a chance for the militants to take breath, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday.


"No one in Iraq, in Libya or especially Yemen insists on immediately halting armed activities and observing a week or two of full silence before sitting down at the negotiating table, but they do so in Syria," Lavrov told participants of the "Dialogue in the Name of the Future" program of the Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund.
"The demands of silence each time are aimed at only one thing: so that the militants take breath, reinforce themselves and get new weapons and ammunition," he said.

The foreign minister recalled the recent events in Syria’s Palmyra. After the operation to liberate Iraq’s Mosul was stopped, the Islamic State terrorists were allowed to withdraw via a corridor, and they headed towards Palmyra, "receiving a signal that Mosul won’t be taken over now." "Such games mean trouble," Lavrov stressed.
[tass.com]
14/12/16
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