WASHINGTON, February 26. /TASS/. The United States should take into account the tireless efforts made by Russia, Turkey and Iran to reconcile the Syrians, the Russian Embassy in the US said in a statement dedicated to remarks by State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert about "the failure of the Astana process" in connection with the situation in Eastern Ghouta.
"UN Security Council Resolution 2401 passed on February 24 points to efforts made by Russia, Turkey and Iran as the guarantor nations of the Astana process to reduce violence on the way towards a comprehensive ceasefire throughout Syria. We confirm that we, together with our Turkish and Iranian partners, continue the painstaking work in this direction and are getting ready for the next Astana-format meeting in March," the statement reads.
"The US supported the passing of Resolution 2401," the embassy noted. "In light of that, we took note of remarks by Spokesperson Heather Nauert about the ‘faiilure of the Astana process’ in connection with the situation in Eastern Ghouta made at a State Department press briefing on February 22, which contravene the US stance at the UN. Such biased statements cannot fail to raise eyebrows. It has never occurred to anyone to talk about ‘the failure of Geneva,’ despite the fact that, unfortunately, no significant milestones in the Syrian political settlement have been achieved there ever since it was launched."
"We hope that the United States was not guided by the need to stop counterterrorism operations against the Islamic State, Jabhat al-Nusra, Ahrar al-Sham, the Army of Islam and Faylaq al-Rahman groups (outlawed in Russia - TASS) operating in the suburbs of Damascus. However, there are some doubts on that score. Sources ‘on the ground’ cited by Americans more and more often indicate that the information on the situation in Syria received by them comes from the White Helmets NGO, which is mixed in with terrorists and which is financed by Western proponents of the concept of forcible change of unwanted regimes."
"We urge the American partners to carefully check the information handed over to them, compare it with the real situation in Syria and take into account the tireless efforts made by Russia, Turkey and Iran to reconcile Syrians at the Astana platform and in the context of the Syrian National Dialogue Congress held in Sochi," the embassy noted.
"We have never questioned the significance of the Geneva process. We have always been committed to the international obligations enshrined in UN Security Council Resolution 2254. All that Russia wants is to secure an early end to the counterterrorism operation in Syria and help establish a long-awaited lasting peace in that country," the embassy stressed.