Russia Seeks to Counter International Terrorism - Hmeymim Group

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia's new foreign policy concept, seeking the Syrian territorial integrity and calling on the international community to unite against terrorism, confirms the country's peaceful intentions worldwide, including in the Middle East, Tarek Ahmad, a leader of the Hmeymim group of internal Syrian opposition, told Sputnik on Friday.

"A new concept of Russia's foreign policy is not a strategy of waging wars around the world, including in the Middle East. It continues to develop Russia’s current peaceful intentions and stance on the necessity to counter the biggest threat which is international terrorism. When it comes to the Syrian crisis, the new document has reiterated Russia’s support for the unity, independence and territorial integrity of Syria," Ahmad said.

Ahmad noted that Russia’s military actions and foreign policy goals were always aimed at "downplaying tension and addressing the aggressive politics of the United States, Europe and some Arab countries over the Syrian conflict and the crisis in Ukraine."

The document, signed by Putin on November 30, updates and revises the key areas, goals, and tasks of the country's foreign policy to reflect the changes on the international arena in the past three years. The new concept calls for the establishment of a broad international coalition to fight global terrorist threat and reiterates support for Syria's integrity and peaceful settlement of the conflict in the Middle Eastern state.

The previous concept version was adopted in February 2013 and is no longer valid now.