Using terrorists for geopolitical purposes unacceptable – Russia

Comment by foreign minister Sergey Lavrov comes after several terrorist groups launched a surprise offensive in Syria

The use of terrorists to reach geopolitical goals, as is currently happening with the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group in Syria, is unacceptable, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

“We are absolutely convinced of the inadmissibility of using terrorists like Hayat Tahrir al-Sham to achieve geopolitical goals, as it is now being done by orchestrating the offensive in the Idlib de-escalation zone,” Lavrov said on Sunday, after meeting with Iranian and Turkish foreign ministers in Qatar.

The foreign ministers of Türkiye, Iran, and Russia met in the capital, Doha, on Saturday to discuss the lightning rebel advance in Syria.

The militant group Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham (HTS), an offshoot of Jabhat al-Nusra, along with its allies, launched a surprise offensive against Syrian government forces last week, capturing large swaths of territory, including parts of Aleppo and the city of Hama. The Syrian military has redeployed forces to threatened regions, with the support of Russian warplanes.

Earlier this week, Lavrov suggested that the HTS offensive could be supported by the US and the UK, emphasizing that Moscow is working with Türkiye and Iran to stabilize the situation.

President Bashar Assad has vowed to “eliminate terrorists” who attacked the country and to punish their “sponsors and supporters,” amid media reports that militants received training from Ukrainian military intelligence.

Syrian media reports have claimed that the government forces have managed to neutralize a total of 2,500 terrorists, with the help of Russian air support.

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The Syrian military has reported that state-backed troops operating in the Daraa and Suwayda regions in the south of the country have been redeployed and have “established a strong and cohesive defensive cordon” to repel terrorist attacks on checkpoints. The military described the raids as attempts to divert Damascus’ attention from Homs and Hama.

The government has been embroiled in several localized conflicts since 2011, when various anti-government groups first sought to unseat Assad. Jihadist forces, particularly those receiving military assistance from abroad, have emerged as dominant players among the opposition and have since been labeled by the US and other Western nations as “moderate rebels.”

In 2015, Russia intervened in the hostilities at the request of Damascus and helped Assad’s forces restore control over most of the country.

Türkiye, Iran and Russia signed an agreement in 2017 to support Syria’s territorial integrity and bring about an end to a war started by anti-government rebels.