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Conflict in Syria

Russian diplomat says Syrian conflict cannot be solved through military means only

A Russian diplomat believes when the armed conflict in Syria comes to an end, the Iranian military units and the units of Lebanon's Shia Hezbollah movement will leave the country

TEL AVIV, February 21. /TASS/. The Syrian conflict cannot be solved through military means only, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov said in an interview with Israel’s Jerusalem Post daily, published on Tuesday.

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Russian top diplomat says broad anti-terrorist front forming in Syria

"Russia claims that Syria’s conflict cannot be solved through military means only," he said. Syromolotov, who is on a visit to Israel in order to take part in consultations between the two countries foreign ministries on combating the terror threat, said that "one of the central issues is to separate the opposition from the terrorists." "Last year, we tried with the Americans to come to an agreement on this and the Americans did not manage to make this distinction between the opposition and terrorists and it didn’t happen," he added.

According to Syromolotov, when the armed conflict in Syria comes to an end, the Iranian military units and the units of Lebanon's Shia Hezbollah movement will leave the country. "I understand the fears of Israel relating to Hezbollah and the Revolutionary Guards in Syria, and you of course fear that they will stay in Syria after the war," the Russian deputy foreign minister said. They "will leave," the Jerusalem Post quoted him as saying.

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Foreign policy Syrian conflict

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