UNITED NATIONS, February 16. /TASS/. Western games of the "war on terror" have left a "deadly permanent stain" on several regions, including the Middle East, Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Maria Zabolotskaya said.

"The game of the collective West that they call a 'war on terror' and attempts (of a varying degrees of success) to overthrow 'undesirable' leaders have put a deadly permanent stain on those regions, which is clearly traced in the reports of the Secretary-General," she said.

"This global problem is not going to be eradicated as long as some Western States use terrorists and extremists to overthrow 'unwanted regimes,' wage 'proxy wars,' or achieve geopolitical goals otherwise," Zabolotskaya added.

In her words, terrorism is thriving and spreading in regions where significant foreign interference in internal affairs, including under the pretext of counter-terrorism operations, has taken or is taking place.

"Such disregard for sovereignty invariably leads to the destruction of statehood, rampant crime, terrorism, extremism, and mass deaths of civilians," the Russian diplomat said.