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MOSCOW, February 15. /TASS/. Russia will continue to deliver strikes on facilities of the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist groups in any case, even if an agreement on a ceasefire in Syria is reached, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said in an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel.
"We are fighting against terrorist groups - IS, Jabhat al-Nusra and others associated with Al-Qaeda," the diplomat said. "Airstrikes on terrorist groups’ facilities will be continued in any case, even if the Syrian ceasefire agreement is reached. Because the point is that this ceasefire should apply to those who are really interested in the beginning of the negotiating process, and not to the terrorists."
Allegations of Russian airstrikes at targets other than IS not proven
According to the diplomaty, the West has no evidence that the Russian Aerospace Forces conduct airstrikes not only against the Islamic State (IS, outlawed in Russia) terrorist organization’s positions, but also at civilian facilities, in particular, hospitals, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said in an interview with Germany’s Spiegel magazine published on Monday.
"As for the allegations suggesting that we deliver airstrikes on targets other than IS, there is no evidence confirming this," he said.
The diplomat also said that a number of non-profit organizations (NGO) have spread untrue information about Russia’s airstrikes on civilian facilities. "There have been many NGO reports that are not consistent with the reality. Take for example the so-called Syrian Observatory - actually, these people are based in London, collecting unconfirmed reports,’ Gatilov said.