Russia considers Israeli strikes on Syria counterproductive and defends this position in consultations with Israel, Alexander Lavrentyev, the Russian President's Special Representative for Syria, said on Wednesday at a press conference following the 15th international meeting on Syria in the Astana format.
"The Russian position is that these strikes must be stopped," Lavrentyev noted. - "They are counterproductive. We hope that the Israeli side will hear our concerns, including concerns about the possibility of an escalation of violence on the territory of Syria."
In this connection, Lavrentyev pointed out that "sooner or later the cup of patience, including that of the Syrian government, may be overflowing and some retaliatory strike will follow, which will, accordingly, lead to a new round of tension. "No one wants that, that's why in contacts with our Israeli partners we just emphasize the inadmissibility of an outburst of violence in Syria," he stressed.
Russia's position is shared by its partners in the Astana format, Iran and Turkey. In their joint statement, the participants of this meeting in Sochi condemned the ongoing Israeli military attacks in Syria, which violate international law and international humanitarian law, undermine the sovereignty of Syria and neighboring countries, and threaten stability and security in the region, and called on them to stop.
On the Syrian government's interaction with the Kurds
Lavrentyev noted that Russia is setting the Syrian government and the Kurds up for a tight dialogue so that the sides can find mutually acceptable solutions to stabilize the situation in Syria.
"We are setting the Kurds up for a tight dialogue with Damascus, for reaching mutually acceptable agreements in order to reduce the tension that exists there," he said. - "If the Kurds and Damascus manage to reach an agreement, it will help stabilize the situation almost throughout Syria, not to mention that it will give additional impetus and help solve the problem of terrorist organizations being on Syrian territory".
"That is why we are interested in this, we are pushing both Damascus and the Kurds to find mutually acceptable solutions," he added.
Lavrentyev stressed that the Kurds are an integral part of the Syrian people, so there can be "no talk of creating any independent Kurdish state, or any other quasi-state forms." "This is absolutely unacceptable," the diplomat concluded.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS