Lavrov accuses U.S. of attempts to set up illegitimate quasi-state in Syrian territory
MOSCOW. Oct 12 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused the United States of attempts to set up an illegitimate quasi-state in territories under the Syrian government's jurisdiction.
"There are huge lands east of the Euphrates, where absolutely unacceptable things are happening. The U.S. is trying to use these lands through its Syrian allies, primarily Kurds, to set up a quasi-state there," Lavrov said in taking questions from RT France, Paris Match, and Le Figaro.
The Russian Foreign Ministry published fragments of Lavrov's answers on its website.
"The U.S. is absolutely unlawfully trying to set up a quasi-state in this territory and do whatever it can to provide conditions for normal life of its charges," he said.
"They are setting up government bodies alternative to the legitimate Syrian bodies and are actively facilitating the return and settlement of refugees there. At the same time, neither the U.S. nor France, or any other Western country is willing to provide conditions for the return of refugees to the territories controlled by the legitimate Syrian government until a credible political process starts, as the West is saying to us," Lavrov said.
"The question is, why is it not necessary to wait for the start of a credible political process on the eastern bank of the Euphrates, which is under control of the U.S. and its local associates?" he said.
"The only answer is, they want to set up a territory there to serve as a prototype of some new state, or this again would be a most dangerous game with the Iraqi Kurdistan, I mean the so-called Greater Kurdistan idea. It's quite possible that, as a rule, the U.S. is trying to keep the situation hot in that region, so that nobody would be able to calm down. It's much easier to fish whatever they want in these troubled waters. This has never done any good," Lavrov said.