Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
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Moscow, SANA- Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday that ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organizations continue to commit crimes and terrorize civilians in Syria, including attacks using toxic substances.
During her weekly press conference on Tuesday, Zakharova explained that there are armed factions that did not respond to calls from Russia and Egypt to commit to the cessation of hostilities during Ramadan and began blatant armed provocations with an incitement from ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists, noting at the same time that Moscow still hopes that the armed factions will respond to its calls in the coming days.
Zakharova touched on the news published in Lebanese media about ISIS terrorist organization launching an attack on the Syrian army in Raqqa countryside using shells containing toxic chemicals, noting that other media outlets reported that ISIS terrorists detained more than 800 Syrian Kurds as hostages within a week, killed 11 of them and injured 20 others who tried to flee.
Regarding the humanitarian situation, Zakharova praised the constructive cooperation by the Syrian government with the international humanitarian organizations to deliver humanitarian aid to those in need, warning at the same time of manipulating the issues of humanitarian aid, particularly attempts of some members of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) to outline additional plans to drop humanitarian shipments from air in some areas without obtaining the approval of the Syrian government.
On the other hand, Zakharova called on the United States and the European Union to lift sanctions against Syria without delay since they undermined the humanitarian situation for many Syrian citizens.
Commenting on the Turkish President’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s apology to his Russian counterpart over the downing of a Russian air jet by Turkey last year over the Syrian-Turkish borders, Zakharova said that Turkey has taken a step in the right direction.
A meeting between the Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart could take place soon on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) on July 1st.
Lavrov discusses with EU Ambassadors political settlement in Syria
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed with heads of the European diplomatic corps in Moscow the crisis in Ukraine and the political settlement in Syria.
Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the meeting dealt with dialogue between Russia and the EU as well as international pressing issues including the political solution in Syria.
Qabas/ Manal
