The non-governmental organization White Helmets organized provocations and staging in Syria with Western money, which was used to justify airstrikes on the territory of the republic. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said this on Wednesday at a joint news conference following talks with Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Hussein Abdallah al-Safadi.
"This so-called humanitarian organization was created with the active participation of representatives of Western secret services. The organization was financed by Western funds and never provided its so-called humanitarian services on the territory controlled by the Syrian government, but worked exclusively in those parts of Syria where terrorists, especially Jabhat al-Nusra (banned in Russia - TASS), with whom the White Helmets cooperated very closely," Lavrov said, answering a question to TASS. - With Western money, there were simply blatant provocations, staging, staged videos about the government's alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria. These so-called facts, which any more or less objective expert would find out of thin air, were nevertheless used by Western countries to carry out airstrikes on a sovereign state without any grounds in the form of a UN Security Council decision".
He noted that after the actions to liberate Syrian territory "the ground began to burn under the feet of the White Helmets" and the West "was concerned to save its clients and to get them out from under attack," asking Jordan to temporarily host representatives of the movement on its territory. "Of course, we assume that Jordan has promised to take them back in a couple of months. This must be fulfilled, although we know how the West treats its word," Lavrov added.
In turn, the Foreign Minister of Jordan confirmed that the Kingdom had agreed to host the members of the organization on condition of their temporary stay. According to him, Jordan took this step for humanitarian reasons. "At the moment, most have indeed already returned [to their places of permanent residence]. Now there are no more than 50 so-called White Helmets in Jordan. <...> We are actively working with Western partners to complete the process of their return to their homeland," al-Safadi noted.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS