Sergey Lavrov
Russia has no evidence that the US-led coalition combats militants of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda) in Syria, the country’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said on February 23.
“The Nusra Front is not being targeted. We still have no evidence that the US-led coalition considers the Nusra front as a target for its military campaign,” Lavrov said at a news conference in the Russian capital Moscow adding that the group is a major obstractle of reaching a ceasefire in the war-torn country.
The diplomat continued saying that militants use civilians in Damascus’ Eastern Ghouta as human shields in order to put the blame for any casualties on Syrian forces and their allies.
“A lot of questions arise on how the media campaign seeking to accuse Damascus and its allies in the anti-terror fight of violating international humanitarian law is being conducted,” he said.
Lavrov added that mainstream media use the information about alleged humanitarian law violations that have been presented by the White Helmets – the group created with the help of and backed by the US and the UK.
