The conflict in Syria “is gaining a religious dimension” and al Qaeda forces are becoming active in the country, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday.
“We are very concerned by the situation in Syria which is getting more and more complicated, and the conflict is gaining an inter-confessional dimension,” Lavrov said at a news conference before talks with UN special envoy to Syria Kofi Annan in Moscow.
“We are also worried that… the so-called third force represented by al-Qaeda has become active in the country,” he added.