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383605
Wed, 10/14/2015 - 13:27
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Lavrov explains goals of Russia’s anti-terrorist operation in Syria to UN envoy - Russian foreign ministry

MOSCOW, October 13. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who met with United Nations Special Envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura, explained the goals of the Russian air operation against the Islamic State in Syria, the Russian foreign ministry said on Tuesday. "The sides exchanged views on the situation in and around Syria with a focus on the task of a swift political settlement of the crisis by means of a sustainable inclusive negotiating process on the basis of the Geneva communique of June 30, 2012," the ministry said. "Lavrov explained the goals of the operation conducted by the Russian aerospace forces against the Islamic State, Jabhat al-Nusra and other terrorist groups in Syria." On the same day, the United Nations envoy had consultations with Russian president’s special representative on the Middle East and Africa and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. The Islamic State is an Islamic terrorist organization banned in Russia. In 2013-2014, it was known under the name the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and operated mainly in Iraq and Syria. In June 2014, the Islamic State announced the establishment of an "Islamic caliphate" (a state with a Sharia form of government) on the territories it had seized and reduced its name to the Islamic State. According to the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency, the extremist group numbers around 30,000 people. The Iraqi authorities say however it has up to 200,000 gunmen. Among members of the group are citizens of 80 countries, including France, Great Britain, Germany, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, U.S., Canada, Russia and other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Islamic State militants reportedly control up to 40 percent of the Iraq’s territory and about 50 percent of the Syrian territory. Read more

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