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Russian EU ambassador: EU interested in broad anti-terrorist coalition

The idea is likely to be in focus at the forthcoming session of the United Nations General Assembly

MOSCOW, September 21. /TASS/. The European Union is interested in comprehensive cooperation in rebuffing the terrorist threat in the Middle East, Russia’s Permanent Representative at the European Union Vladimir Chizhov said on Monday.

"I think this idea will obviously be in focus at the forthcoming session of the United Nations General Assembly. The idea was met with serious interest," he said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 television channel.

The European Union, in his words, "is trying not to get involved in these discussions and keeps on saying the European Union is not a military force and coalition-related issues are not in its competence." Nevertheless, the European Union member countries "demonstrate profound interest in that," Chizhov noted.

He said the coalition referred not only to the Syrian conflict but to a wider range of issues of cooperation in rebuffing the terrorist threat. "They are Syria, Iraq, Yemen and a number of other Middle East countries. It is a really serious problem and there is much room for cooperation on it. Such cooperation might involve both military force and, naturally, diplomatic efforts, and security services," he said.

"The coalition as a concept, as an idea already lives its own life and it is a matter for immediate future to transform discussions into practical steps," he added.