Repeated targeting mistakes of the US-led coalition in Raqqa have caused significant damage to civilian infrastructure in the city, while a lack of humanitarian aid has led to a catastrophe, a senior Russian diplomat said.
Oleg Syromolotov, who supervises counterterrorism cooperation with other nations on behalf of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said the actions of the US and its allies in Syria differ greatly from how Russia acts.
Russia actively works to provide humanitarian assistance in Syria and bring about a return to normal life on the ground while “the same cannot be said about the US and its cohort,” the diplomat told the RIA Novosti news agency in an interview.
“We are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe in Raqqa as we previously did in Mosul [in Iraq]. It was caused by a lack of effective effort to deliver humanitarian aid and create corridors for the evacuation of civilian population, as well as persistent mistakes of the US Air Force, including airstrikes targeting civilian sites,” he stressed.
The Russian diplomat voiced the accusations in an interview with the agency, which will be published in full later on Friday.
Syromolotov reiterated Russia’s criticism of Washington’s failiure to cooperate with the Syrian government in Damascus in tackling terrorism.
“This is an absurd situation, in which a foreign force, present on Syrian territory illegally and without consent from the government of Syria, starts imposing some geographic boundaries for the Syrian Army, which is fighting to free its own country from terrorists,” he stressed.
The remark is an apparent reference to US troops in Syria attacking militia fighters allied with Damascus, saying the troops were targeted upon crossing the border of the American zone of control.
Read more
Despite setbacks and international efforts to curb foreign funding, IS and other terrorist groups continue to receive funding and supplies from outside of Syria, Syromolotov pointed out.
“The most imminent task for the international community is to eradicate ISIL and other UN-designated terrorist organizations, including Jabhat Al-Nusra, regardless of what rebranding this Al-Qaeda offshoot uses to hide. The issue here is not only the resources this ‘terrorism international’ has in its own right,” he said.
The Russian diplomat said Moscow had the impression that the US is not eager to see IS fully defeated.
“We tell our American colleagues: we are offering coordination of our efforts in fighting terrorists in Syria, but you reject it. Who benefits? ISIL,” he said.
He added that Russia maintains contact with the US to avoid potential conflicts over their respective military operations in Syria.
“The dialogue continues on the level of military specialists. For example, the Russian military command in Syria informed their American partners through an established channel about the area of operation against ISIL in Deir ez-Zor,” the diplomat said, calling the terrorist group Islamic State (IS) by its former name.
