WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — On Wednesday, Lavrov said Moscow and Washington need to join together as soon as possible and as effectively as possible in order to uproot the ISIL.
“Russia hasn’t frankly been very involved with the coalition or with anti-ISIL [Islamic State] efforts. We certainly would like to see Russia to become more involved, but at this point we are still in discussion.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday Russia had no plans to send its military personnel to fight the ISIL militants in Syria or to join the coalition airstrikes against ISIL positions.
Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011 as government forces fight opposition and radical Islamist militant groups, including the Nusra Front and ISIL.
Since 2014, a US-led coalition has been launching airstrikes against the group’s positions in Syria and Iraq. The military campaign in Syria is carried out without permission from Damascus.
Russia has repeatedly criticized the coalition’s actions for not seeking approval from the UN Security Council. In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow would support the formation of an anti-terrorism coalition if Syria considered it appropriate and possible.
