US refuses to call Russian embassy shelling in Syria terrorist attack — (Lavrov)

The US has refused to back the UN Security Council statement condemning the shelling of Russia’s embassy in Damascus as a terrorist attack, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has told Russia’s lower house of parliament.

The Russian embassy in Damascus came under mortar shelling on Tuesday morning. The embassy’s residential house was hit by two shells. No one was killed or wounded.

"We always adopt in the UN Security Council a brief condemning statement of such terrorist attacks," Lavrov said. The US colleagues refused to support the wording of a text circulated by Russia "that classified the accident as a terrorist attack."

• US refuses to receive Russian delegation to discuss Syria

The minister also said that Washington has informed Moscow the US will not be able to receive a top-level Russian delegation to discuss the Syrian crisis resolution.

"We’ve made Americans the proposal announced by President Vladimir Putin yesterday. We suggested that they send a [US] military delegation to Moscow to coordinate a number of joint steps, and after that we could have sent to Washington a top-level delegation led by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev," Lavrov said addressing the Russian State Duma.

He said the proposal had been made at the United Nations in late September.

Lavrov said the US side was ready "to coordinate measure to prevent air accidents in the crisis region."

"Today we got a reply that they cannot send a delegation to Moscow and receive a [Russian] delegation in Washington," he said. "American colleagues are interested only in steps that could help avoid such accidents."

The minister added that the US refusal to cooperate to destroy the Islamic State terrorists raised certain concerns.

• Russia received no requests from other countries to use aerospace force to fight IS

According to the top diplomat, Russia has not received any new requests from other countries for using its aerospace forces in the struggle against the Islamic State.

"There have been no formal requests," Lavrov said. "If there are any, decisions will be made by the supreme commander-in-chief with the Defense Ministry taking part as a professional agency."

"It is most important for us not to see where else we might help, but to form a common front," Lavrov said. "Neither we nor the Americans will succeed in fighting terrorism on our own."

The scale of the threat as it is, it is worth borrowing from the experience of the anti-Hitler coalition, he believes.

"Everything else, all other contradictions must be brushed aside," Lavrov said.
http://tass.ru/en/politics/828856
14/10/15
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Related:

• Lavrov: "Rusia no entiende qué hace EE.UU. en Siria" 

• Lavrov: Russia has no doubts weapons US supplies to Syria fall into hands of terrorists 

• Russia Still Awaits UK Response on ISIL Targets in Syria

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