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No justification for military protection of terrorists — Lavrov

There can be no justification for the attempts to disrupt the anti-terrorist struggle by protecting terrorists militarily from punishment as this occurred on November 24, Lavrov said
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Sergei Bobylev
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
© Sergei Bobylev

BELGRADE, December 3. /TASS/. The attempts of military protection of terrorists cannot be justified, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the OSCE Ministerial Council’s meeting in Belgrade on Thursday.

"There can be no justification for the attempts to disrupt the anti-terrorist struggle by protecting terrorists militarily from punishment as this occurred in the sky over Syria on November 24," Lavrov said.

The UN Security Council has demanded to curb providing assistance to terrorists, including funding their activity and supplying arms to them, as well as engagement in business operations and granting them asylum, Lavrov said.

"We will seek the implementation of these decisions by the OSCE member-states in close coordination with partners in the Middle East and North Africa," Lavrov said.

There is no place for terrorists at negotiations on the Syrian settlement between representatives of the Damascus government and opposition members denouncing extremism, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also said.

"It is inexcusable to continue dividing terrorists into bad and moderate. None of them should have a place at the negotiating table," Lavrov said.

"Delegations of the government of Syria and the entire spectrum of patriotic opposition, which denounces violence and extremism, are supposed to gather at these negotiations. It is the only way for the Syrians to reach consent on the future of their country," he added.