MOSCOW, July 4. /TASS/. Syria’s Ambassador to Russia Riad Haddad has told TASS that the West and Turkey send to Ukraine fighters of the Islamic State terrorist group, which is banned in Russia.

"We are not surprised that the US, the West and Turkey are sending militants from the terrorist organizations IS and Jabhat al-Nusra from Idlib to Ukraine (both are banned in Russia - TASS), because these groups, although they are called differently, but they are tools used by the West against peaceful peoples. That’s how they are turning Ukraine into a hub for terrorists and mercenaries, without realizing the negative consequences that such a policy would entail for global security," the diplomat said.

Earlier, the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service’s press service, Sergey Ivanov, said that the US was actively recruiting Islamic State militants to participate in hostilities in Ukraine as mercenaries.