Lavrov: no facts evidence al-Assad's cooperation with ISIS
MOSCOW. Aug 9 (Interfax) - Russia rejects the possibility of cooperation between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with ISIS.
In an interview with Russia-1 channel Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke of double standards applied by Western states: "For the purposes of scrapping chemical weapons Bashar al-Assad was quite a legitimate partner but for fighting terrorism he isn't for some reason."
"There are many superficial things, many speculations. Attempts are even made to present things so as if al-Assad almost cooperates with ISIS," he said.
"There are no facts to prove that. Common sense tells us that it cannot be so,"
the Russian minister said.
"The very thought should not be permitted that someone is cooperating with an organization aiming at seizing power across enormous territories not only in the Middle East but also in North Africa," he stressed.