Lavrov: West starts to understand need of fighting with terrorism by pooling resources

Awareness of the importance of joint struggle with terrorism has begun to grow stronger in the West, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Italy’s Libero newspaper.

"Western partners began to develop the awareness of the importance of fighting with terrorism by pooling resources just recently," he said.

"The joint statement by the Presidents of Russia and the U.S. on Syria, which they made on the sidelines of the APEC summit conference in Da Nang on November 11, turned into an important political event," Lavrov said. "It registered the joint resolve to bring struggle with the Islamic State in eastern Syria to an end."

Lavrov also pointed out the telephone conversation that Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump had on November 21, saying the discussed "the prospects for establishing antiterrorist collaboration."

"Over the two years of the operation [in Syria] the Russian Aerospace Force eliminate more than 900 training camps, more than 660 workshops for the manufacturing of munitions and about 1,500 units of armaments controlled by the terrorists," TASS cited Lavrov as saying.

"About a thousand cities, towns and villages have been liberated and 95% of Syrian territory has been cleared of IS units by now," Lavrov said. "A return to peaceful life has begun, as 1.12 million people from among the refugees and internally displaced persons have returned to their homes.’

He indicated the number of returnees totaled 660,000 this year alone.

"I’d like to stress along with it our strict abidance by the principles of international law in what concerns all our steps towards Syria," the top diplomat concluded.