Russia expects contacts with France will put clarity into how to cooperate on the Syrian settlement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters on Tuesday, TASS reports.
According to the top Russian diplomat, some states are pursuing a policy of destroying Syria.
"The United States pledged that its only goal was to drive terrorists out of Syria and defeat the so-called Islamic State. However, despite its pledges and statements of President [Donald] Trump, the US has been actively settling on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River and is not going to leave the area and is creating local power structures there," Lavrov said.
French President Emmanuel Macron is encouraging these steps, Lavrov noted. In his recent statement, Macron said that the US should not leave Syria and the US-led coalition should remain there until they create the rule which satisfies the Western countries. "Certainly, this is an apparent meddling in domestic affairs and violation of all norms of the international law and decency," Lavrov stressed.
"I hope after contacts with the French colleagues we will make it clear how we will cooperate on the Syrian settlement to observe all rules and norms of the international law and the United Nations Charter," Lavrov said.
Lavrov noted that on Monday, the Russian and French presidents had a phone conversation "during which Vladimir Putin outlined our stance and confirmed readiness to coordinate positions with the French partners." "We are ready for this," the foreign minister said.
On Tuesday, Lavrov attended a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Beijing.