Alwaght- Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, rejected the US claims accusing Bashar Assad’s regime for the rise of ISIS terrorists group adding that the emergence of ISIS goes back to the US-led invasion and eventual occupation Iraq.
“ISIS appeared and became active in Iraq when the militants began storming Baghdad … So, Islamic State ripened in Iraq during the U.S. occupation … the American occupation should be blamed for the rise of ISIS,” Vitaly Churkin said in a TV interview to the Russian news agency Rossiya Segodnya.
The senior Russian diplomat also called for the creation of "an international coalition to fight ISIS, which is what President Putin's proposing,” referring to the Russian president’s speech at the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on Tuesday.
“Russia, as you know, has proposed to form a wide coalition to fight extremists without any delay. It should unite everyone who is ready and is already contributing to tackling terrorism,” Putin said at the CSTO summit speaking about the Islamic State threat.
In his Wednesday interview, Vitaly Churkin called the current US-led coalition fighting Islamic State “flawed.”
“The coalition acts without the UN Security Council mandate and lacks some very important actors such as the Syrian government. That is why it is flawed,” he said.
The Russian envoy to the UN also criticized the US policy towards Syria by saying that it “raises serious questions” and “creates a dangerous precedent.”
Churkin also noted that “All Russia’s actions in Syria are coordinated with the Syrian government and stay within the norms of the international law.” He also dismissed US claims that Russian help to the Syrian authorities negatively affects the situation in this country.
The conflict in Syria, which started in March 2011, has reportedly claimed more than 240,000 lives up until now.
The violence has also forced over four million Syrians to take refuge in neighboring countries, including Jordan and Lebanon. More than 7.2 million others have been displaced internally, according to UN figures.
Syria blames western countries led by the US and their regional allies including the Israeli regime, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey for being the main backers of terrorists fighting to topple the country’s legitimate government.