US Regards Islamic State Terror Group Almost As Ally In Syrian Regime Change - Sergey Lavrov

US Regards Islamic State Terror Group Almost as Ally in Syrian Regime Change - Sergey Lavrov

The United States uses the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, banned in Russia) as a pretext for its military presence in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Saturday, also slamming Washington for regarding the IS "almost as an ally" in its fight against the Syrian government

LISBON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th November, 2018) The United States uses the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, banned in Russia) as a pretext for its military presence in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Saturday, also slamming Washington for regarding the IS "almost as an ally" in its fight against the Syrian government.

Lavrov recalled that the US Department of State had recently said that the IS had not been defeated yet, while the necessary conditions for its defeat were the change of the Syrian ruling regime, and the withdrawal of any Iranian and pro-Iranian troops from the country.

"My guess that the United States regards the IS as a justification of its military presence in Syria, and almost as an ally in its fight against the Syrian regime, has proved true. So, their major aim currently is to change the regime again, not to defeat the IS," Lavrov said at a press conference with his Portuguese counterpart Augusto Santos Silva in Lisbon.

According to Lavrov, using such pretexts "does no credit" to the United States, proving that it has a "hidden agenda" in Syria apart from the "blatantly declared one" of eliminating terrorism in Syria.