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No-flight zone over Aleppo aims to cover up Jabhat al-Nusra — Russian Foreign Ministry

France-drafted resolution on Syria was one-sided and did not reflect the actual state of affairs, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said

MOSCOW, October 8. /TASS/. The ban on flights over Aleppo suggested in the France-initiated draft resolution on Syria has a goal of providing a cover up for Jabhat al-Nusra (terrorist group banned in Russia), Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

The foreign ministry’s commentary was posted on its Facebook official account. "In the meantime, (in the draft resolution) a blatant attempt was made, by banning flights over Aleppo, to provide a cover up for Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists and militants merged with them, in spite of the UN member-states’ obligations to combat the terrorist threat with the use of all available means," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

France-drafted resolution on Syria was one-sided and did not reflect the actual state of affairs, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said. "The Russian Federation voted against the France-initiated draft resolution on the situation in Syria at the UN Security Council," it says in a commentary. "The text (of the resolution) indulged by Washington and submitted (to the UN Security Council) immediately after the United States had refused to implement the Russian-US agreements on the Syria settlement, has grossly distorted the actual state of affairs and was of a politicized, unbalanced and one-sided nature."

"The whole blame for escalation of tensions in the Syrian Arab Republic was shouldered in an indiscriminate way on the country’s authorities," it said.

"Regretting profoundly the damage inflicted on the efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis by supporters of the confrontation, Russia confirms its adamant adherence to a search for long-lasting political solution to the Syrian conflict," the foreign ministry continued.

"We are ready for constructive joint work in the interests of responsible implementation of already reached agreements and coordination of extra steps which will allow Syrians to determine the future of their country through talks of all political, ethnic and religious groups without any external interference," it said.