MOSCOW, November 21 (Sputnik) — Russia will call on the United Nations Security Council to impose a formal ban on the purchase of oil from territories controlled by terrorists, which include those seized by Islamic State (IS) militants, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday.
"One of the priorities … we believe, is the adoption of decisions prohibiting and legally criminalizing any action related to the supply of oil from areas controlled by terrorists, and purchase of this oil and use of proceeds to finance terrorist activities," Lavrov said.
"We will promote this proposal in the Security Council. The work has already begun," he added.
According to the minister, the Security Council's decisions outline principles that must be followed by all states and "these principles need to be translated into the language of practical requirements."
Lavrov noted that Russia "actively participated in the drafting of Resolution 2170 and 2178, in which all states are encouraged to counteract financing and any other support of the terrorist structures in the Middle East and North Africa, including the so-called Islamic State, which is trying to establish a caliphate and has already seized vast territories in Syria, Iraq, and is moving its troops to the territories of other countries, including Lebanon, Libya."
The IS is a Sunni jihadist group that has been fighting the Syrian government since 2012. In June, the group extended its attacks to Iraq and announced the establishment of an Islamic caliphate on the territories under its control.
The United States and its allies started launching airstrikes against IS positions in Iraq in August. In September, the airstrikes were extended to include the group's positions in Syria.
