ABU DHABI, February 1. /TASS/. Moscow is urging Arab nations to join a trade and economic embargo on the territories controlled by the Islamic State terrorist grouping, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday.
The Russian foreign minister made this statement at the 4th session of the Russian-Arab cooperation forum in the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
"We’re urging Arab friends to join the Russian initiative to impose pursuant to article 41 of the UN Charter an all-embracing trade and economic embargo on all the territories remaining under control of the so-called Islamic State," Lavrov said.
Russia stands for raising the efficiency of the struggle against terrorism with the UN’s leading role, the foreign minister said.
"We stand consistently for raising the efficiency of international anti-terror cooperation with the UN’s central and coordinating role on the basis of international law and without double standards," Lavrov said.
"We consider it principally important to fulfill all UN Security Council counter-terror resolutions and ensure the strict work of monitoring mechanisms, which were created in compliance with these resolutions. Simultaneously, it is important to continue destroying military and economic potential of terrorist organizations and countering terrorism financing," the Russian foreign minister said.
Russia’s top diplomat noted the importance of countering the radicalization of the population.
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"This is yet another principally important task - to take more decisive measures in the struggle against the spread of terrorist ideology, in the struggle against the population’s radicalization," Lavrov said, adding that Russia had submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council on countering terrorist and extremist ideologies.
"We count on coordination with Arab friends on this issue. We are convinced that representatives of traditional religious confessions are the key allies of all the states in countering the spread of terrorist ideology, in the efforts to prevent the radicalization of the population," Lavrov said.
Ceasefire does not apply to the terrorist organizations Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra, he went on.
"We proceed from the assumption that the cessation of hostilities does not apply to the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra, whatever they may be called. Al-Nusra has changed its name again," Lavrov said. "That was clearly confirmed at a meeting in Astana. I do know that this is also the position of the League of Arab States and in that respect we present a common front."