![Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks during the annual press conference at the Russia Foreign Ministry Conference Hall in Moscow, Russia on 15 January 2018 [Sefa Karacancy/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/2018_1-15-Russian-Foreign-Minister-Sergey-Lavrov20180115_2_28094755_29766645.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that the United States either does not understand the reality of the situation in Syria or deliberately makes provocative moves.
"The United States completely ignores the sensitive nature of the Kurdish issue and its regional dimensions and continues to actively encourage Kurdish separatism," Lavrov said during a press conference in the Russian capital Moscow yesterday.
Lavrov said Washington "seeks to control Syria's borders with Turkey by using the Kurds" adding that "the United States has been seeking for a while to create an alternative authority to the Syrian regime in a large area in Syria".
Read: Syrian opposition leader decries plight of East Ghouta
"The United States is providing its partners with modern weapons, especially the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Party forces (KDP), which is made up of Kurdish militias" he said.
Lavrov said the United States is continuing efforts to form a border force in Syria on the border with Turkey and Iraq despite recent US statements denying this.
Lavrov noted that the Kurds were invited to participate in the Syrian National Dialogue Congress scheduled for next week in the Russian resort of Sochi.
Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. If the image(s) bear our credit, this license also applies to them. What does that mean? For other permissions, please contact us.
Spotted an error on this page? Let us know
