MOSCOW, September 29. /TASS/. Washington’s latest remarks have stirred up an outrage in Russia as the vice-speaker of the previous, sixth, Duma, Sergey Zheleznyak, condemned recent statements by US State Department spokesman John Kirby about possible terrorist attacks in Russian cities, branding them as unacceptable for civilized dialogue.
In a statement on Wednesday, Kirby said one of the consequences of the war in Syria could be the extremists’ attacks against Russian interests, perhaps even Russian cities. "And Russia will continue to send troops home in body bags," he said.
"US representatives allow themselves to utter irresponsible statements towards our country that look like threats," Zheleznyak told reporters. "Degenerating into such incitement, foreign politicians possibly seek to influence the anti-terrorist operation in Syria, which Russia’s Aerospace Troops carry out jointly with the government troops of President Bashar al-Assad," he added.
The politician said the US has furnished no proof of alleged strikes by Russian and Syrian warplanes on civilian facilities and the so-called moderate opposition, but it "continues repeating these lies."
He said it is time for Washington to realize that cooperation with the legitimate authorities in Syria is necessary for an efficient fight against international terrorism, not to see the country torn into pieces along with the Syrian people "condemned to a bitter destiny of turning into refugees."
"The stance the US has assumed towards the terrorists hurts any chances of terminating the conflict in Syria, while only escalating the situation in the region. Instead of confronting international terrorism jointly, as our country has repeatedly offered, the US administration is trying to portray us as the root of all problems, dodging the settlement of really important matters in the Syrian crisis and playing into the hands of terrorists," Zheleznyak explained.