Russian FM calls for US cooperation with Assad against IS

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Sunday urged the United States and other world powers to cooperate with Syrian President Bashar Assad to combat the Islamic State, calling it a “common enemy.”

An international coalition, led by the US, have already been carrying out airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic State. Until now, however, they have not included Assad in these attacks.

Russia’s top diplomat reiterated Russia’s backing for embattled Assad, arguing that the US-led coalition should overcome its “persistent rejection” of cooperation with the Assad regime in the fight with the Islamic State.

The United States, Britain and France have repeatedly accused Assad’s forces of carrying out chlorine gas attacks with barrel bombs dropped from helicopters.

Russia, however, maintains there is no solid proof that Damascus is behind the attacks.

Lavrov is set to meet his Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir in Moscow on Tuesday, to discuss the situation in Syria and Yemen and ways to combat IS.

“Members of this terrorist organization have promised to blow up Muslim sacred sites because they consider them to be a reflection of ‘incorrect’ Islam. This is a terrible organization,” he said.

He referred to a map drawn up by IS showing its plan to control the sites of Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia, the two most sacred places in Islam.

Also Sunday, Lavrov warned against what he called unfounded claims that Syria has chemical weapons, as the United Nations Security Council investigates deadly chlorine gas attacks.

“Our American partners and some countries in the region persistently refuse to recognize Assad as a partner, which is rather strange,” Lavrov told Russian television on Sunday.

“Assad was a fully legitimate partner in destroying chemical arms but somehow he is not in fighting terrorism,” the Russian foreign minister said.

“We still think this objective is achievable,” he said.

His comments came after Russia on Friday backed the establishment of a Security Council panel to identify who is behind the chlorine attacks, which the West blames on the Damascus regime.

Lavrov said the operation to remove chemical weapons from Syria was successful, and that all claims to the contrary should be checked.

“This problem was successfully resolved,” he said in a statement regarding Syria’s chemical weapons stocks.

Syria in 2013 had agreed to turn over its chemical arsenal and disable production sites after the United States threatened military action over a sarin attack outside Damascus.

A total of approximately 1,400 tons of chemical weapons have been removed from Syria, with the majority being destroyed aboard the US Navy ship MV Cape Ray.

“Sometimes publications come out that there could be undeclared chemical weapons in Syria. This is all being checked, here we must avoid unfounded accusations,” Lavrov said Sunday.

“We have every basis to consider that Syria will continue cooperating closely.”