Lavrov: Counterterrorism Requires Cooperation with Syria

In a speech at the 69th session of the UN General Assembly on Saturday, Lavrov said that Russia had been calling for uniting efforts to combat terrorism since the beginning of the crisis in Syria, and that it has been contributing to this end by providing weapons to Iraq and Syria and other countries.
 
He said that the United States employs the logic of unilateral force, while combating terrorism requires uniting efforts and tackling the cause behind the emergence of terrorist organizations like ISIL, not just deal with the symptoms of this phenomenon.
 
Lavrov asserted that diplomatic efforts alone can resolve crisis, citing the example of how diplomacy prevented the US and NATO interference in Syria.
 
Also on Saturday, Lavrov met UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday on the sidelines of the General Assembly session.
 
During the meeting, Lavrov called for increasing international efforts to combat terrorism without double standards, stressing that counterterrorism mustn’t be used to carry out ideological plots or settle personal scores.
 
He stressed that combating terrorism on Syrian territories must be based on cooperation with the Syrian government, and that counterterrorism requires comprehensive methodical work to uproot it, adding that ISIS is only part of the problem.