MOSCOW, April 26. /TASS/. Western countries ignore Russia’s proposals to combat international terrorism, Chief of Russia’s General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, said on Wednesday.
"The West ignores our proposals to pool efforts in the struggle against international terrorism. Since 2015 Russia has been fighting radical Islamic groups in Syria, containing terrorism away from its borders and preventing its penetration into Russia and Europe. The lack of tight cooperation and interaction between our countries in the struggle against terrorism creates favorable conditions for the Islamic State (terrorist organization outlawed in Russia)," Gerasimov explained.
The Chief of General Staff underscored the string of high profile terrorist attacks that inflicted heavy losses and fatalities throughout Europe lately (France, Germany, Belgium, Britain, Sweden and Russia), for which the Islamic State is responsible.
"There have been no steps towards a rapprochement, though. The leaders of the European Union and NATO have been conducting biased policies and pointing to Russia as the one to blame for all the world’s negative developments," Gerasimov noted.
The US missile strike against a government airdrome in Syria was quite indicative in that respect, the chief of staff said.
"Although there was no proof at all that the Syrian military used chemical weapons the strike was supported by practically all European countries," he added.
Western countries stepping up propaganda war against Russia
The West is stepping up its information war against Russia trying to downgrade its role in the fight against international terrorism, according to Gerasimov.
"Western countries are stepping up a tough propaganda war unleashed against Russia. When sifting through reports by European and US media outlets, one gets the impression that practically all negative events taking place in the world are the work of either Russia’s intelligences services or Russian hackers," Gerasimov pointed out.