Lavrov said, in an interview with al-Arabiya TV, whose text was published on the official website of the Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday: "I recently returned from Damascus, where I visited with the Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Yuri Borisov, who held talks on prospects of economic cooperation, while I discussed with colleagues political situations. "
He continued, "I do not think that those who have spoken with the Syrian President, Bashir al-Assad, and other state officials, can say that the government of the Syrian Arab Republic is only counting on a military solution to the conflict. This is not true. The military confrontation between the country’s government and the opposition is over."
He explained, "Idlib’s lands are under the control of the Headquarters for the Liberation of al-Sham (Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else
...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...), but this area is being narrowed. Our
He continued, "The second hotspot is the eastern side of the Euphrates River, where the American military personnel operating in the area illegally united with the separatist forces, and are playing with the Kurds in an irresponsible manner."
Lavrov stressed that the U.S. military "brought American oil companies to the region and started pumping oil for their own purposes without respecting Syria’s illusory sovereignty and territorial integrity, as stipulated in Resolution 2254 of the United Nations Security Council.”