BOCHAROV RUCHEY (Russia) (Pakistan Point news / Sputnik - 22nd August, 2018) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday that all foreign forces that are in Syria without the permission of the countrys government must be withdrawn.
Earlier in the day, US National Security Adviser John Bolton said that the withdrawal of Iranian forces from Syria was a strong prerequisite for the United States in resolving the conflict jointly with other states, including with Russia.
"All foreign forces that are there without an invitation from the Syrian government must eventually be withdrawn," Lavrov told reporters commenting on Boltons words.
The US-led coalition of more than 70 countries is conducting military operations against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. The coalition's operations in Iraq are conducted in cooperation with the Iraqi government, but those in Syria are not authorized by the government of President Bashar Assad or the UN Security Council.
Moscow has been assisting Damascus since September 2015 at the request of the Syrian government, both through supporting the struggle against the terrorist groups and providing humanitarian aid to the residents of the crisis-torn country.
