UNITED NATIONS, March 21. /TASS/. Washington is looting Syria’s resources under the cover of fighting terrorism in the country, Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said.

"This September will mark the tenth anniversary of the United States’ illegal military presence in Syria. The US is using the fight against terrorism in the country as a cover. However, in fact, they (the Americans - TASS) are looting its resources, playing a highly destabilizing role. Meanwhile, our American colleagues have actually long stopped fighting against the IS (the Islamic State terror group outlawed in Russia - TASS), using the militants they nurtured only to achieve their own goals, which includes carrying out acts of sabotage against Syrian government forces. As for terrorists from the UN-blacklisted Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham [group] (outlawed in Russia - TASS), who control the Idlib Province and oppose the legitimate Syrian government based in Damascus, the Americans and their European allies are trying to whitewash them," Nebenzya said at a UN Security Council meeting.

"We keep hearing that cross-border UN humanitarian supplies to northwestern Syria are important and allegedly effective. Apart from that, the US has sent 75 assessment and monitoring missions from Turkey to that region since the start of 2024. However, neither Damacus nor UN Security Council members are aware of the real goals of these trips," he noted.

The Russian envoy is confident that "the UN Secretariat places cooperation with Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham terrorists before interaction with the legitimate Syrian authorities." "To say nothing of the Western delegations to the Security Council who are ready to forgive their wards for everything," Nebenzya stressed.