SOCHI, February 7. /TASS/. The United States has plans to divide Syria, Russia will discuss the issue with its American counterparts, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a master class session for the finalists of the Leaders of Russia contest on Wednesday.

"Looks like in Syria, the Americans have embarked on the course aimed at dividing the country," the minister said. "Plans for the actual partition of Syria do exist, and we are aware of that. We will ask our American counterparts how they see all that."

According to Russia’s top diplomat, the US gave up the assurances that the only purpose of its presence in Syria without an invitation from the legitimate government is to defeat the Islamic State terror group (outlawed in Russia). "Now they say that this presence will continue until they are convinced that a stable political settlement process, which will lead to a change of regime (of President Bashar al-Assad), has begun in Syria," he pointed out.

"The fact that the United States is cozying up to various groups of Syrian society, which are countering the government, including with weapons in their hands, leads to very dangerous results," Lavrov stressed.