Syrian Crisis
"We have repeatedly told our partners that it is necessary to cut terrorists' channels not only getting manpower, but arms supplies, mostly via the Turkish-Syrian border."
Zakharova also said that Syrian opposition groups should cut ties with terrorists.
"Participants of the cessation of hostilities agreement in Syria should decisively separate themselves, including geographically, from terrorists. This is our position that we have affirmed several times."
A turning point has been reached in the Syrian reconciliation process.
Russia's actions are aimed to settle the Syrian crisis, while some parties involved don't supports such initiatives, trying to fan the flames of the war.
NATO Missile Defense System in Europe
"For many years, the Russian side has repeatedly drawn attention to the risks posed by such a unilateral and unfettered deployment of the US strategic missile defense system to international security and strategic stability. We were ready to closely cooperate, including to create a joint air defense architecture with NATO which would have been built on the principle of sectors."
"It could have really protect the region from possible missile threats from outside the Euro-Atlantic region and at the same time would not have undermined strategic parity."
Under NATO's planned missile defense system, approved in 2010, during a NATO summit in Lisbon, radars and interceptors will be placed in several NATO states, such as Romania and Poland. The shield will be strengthened by naval forces.
Moscow takes into account West's actions related to the air defense system in Europe and is ready to take resposive measures, Zakharova said.
"We continue to consider the destructive activity of the US and its allies related to air defense systems a direct threat to regional security and stability."
She emphasized that Russia has repeatedly called for cooperation, while the deployment of US missile defense in Europe threatens regional security. NATO only wanted to legalize its air defense system's deployment near Russia's borders, Zakharova said.
"They did offer to exchange information, a certain kind of partnership on this matter, but only within the framework of their program and their system. Why was this done? Mainly to legalize their own system, which they, as we now understand, never intended to put on hold."
Answering a question on Russia's possible withdrawal from the New START Treaty following NATO air defense missile system's deployment to Europe, Zakharova said that Moscow reserves the right to respond in the military-technical sphere.
Earlier in the day, the head of Russia's Arms Committee in the upper house of parliament, Viktor Ozerov, said that Moscow could withdraw from the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) in response to new air defense systems being deployed in Eastern Europe.
"Given that this [deployment of NATO air defense system to Europe] was and still is not our choice, of course, we reserve the right to appropriately respond with military-technical measures."
Zakharova added that Washington acts inconsistently in regard to the deployment of air defense systems to Europe.
Murder of Russian Su-24 Pilot
Moscow insists that all involved in the murder of pilot Oleg Peshkov should be brough to justice, Zakharova said.
"It seems that the Turkish justice purposefully is trying to mitigate the responsibility of the person who has publicly confessed to involvement in committing a serious crime," she said.
"In fact, Ankara shows its unwillingness to take part of responsibility [for the death of the Russian pilot], given that it was its [Ankara's] despicable and treacherous actions had led to the destruction of the [Su-24] aircraft and thereby caused the death of the Russian pilot."
On Monday, the Turkish prosecutor’s office decided not to charge Celik citing lack of evidence.
Celik was arrested alongside 13 others in the Turkish city of Izmir in early April on charges of illegal gun possession. The suspect previously said he did not shoot at Peshkov, but had accepted the responsibility for the killing as a commander of a militant group.
Celik insisted he had repeatedly ordered his men to take the Russian pilot prisoner, and not to shoot at him.
Rousseff Impeachment Vote
"It is important that these processes are strictly within the framework of the constitution, consistent with the norms set out by the national legislation, as this is crucial for the events — whatever they may be — not to lead to a split in society," Zakharova told reporters.
"Any destructive outside interference is unacceptable," she emphasized.
Earlier on Thursday, Brazil's Senate, the upper house of the parliament, voted to temporarily suspend President Dilma Rousseff from office for 180 days while the process to impeach her begins.
Brazil’s president has been facing a wave of public discontent for over a year amid the country’s struggling economy and a major corruption scandal in the state-owned Petrobras petroleum company.
