MOSCOW, April 19. /TASS/. The United States has been fighting against the Syrian government instead of terrorists, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said while answering questions by members of parliament after presenting the government’s annual report.

"During the election campaign, our American partners called for combating the so-called Islamic State saying that it did not matter what the political regime in Syria was because the war on terror was the main goal," he said. "But what do we see now? The first step the new US administration took concerning Syria resulted in a strike on the government troops. It means, their fight is not against terrorism but against the Syrian government," Medvedev added.

The prime minister added that Russia could not "influence the position of our counterparts who have been trying to unite various political forces within NATO."

"But it seems that further tensions will only lead to the destruction of the Syrian state as well as to a partial victory of the terrorists, which is not in line with our plans at all. Our government and the Defense Ministry will continue their work in this connection," Medvedev stressed.

According to him, as far as international law goes, the step taken by the US was "an act of military aggression" while Russia’s participation in resolving the Syrian crisis was based "on the legitimate Syrian government’s invitation." "The Americans used force without UN permission thus violating international law. This was an act of military aggression. We do not know what will happen next, but the Islamic State has surely benefited from the aggression because it actually gave them free rein to continue their rampage," the Russian prime minister noted.