Russia accuses West of using Syria as battleground amid rising tensions

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Russia’s foreign ministry on Wednesday accused the West and NATO of using Syria as a place to test their capabilities, adding that Moscow has racked up its efforts to resolve the ongoing escalations in the country.

“Syria has become an arena in which Western countries, especially the United States, are testing their capabilities,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Rudaw.

Zakharova accused the West and NATO of creating groups to oust the Syrian regime.

“Countries that are part of NATO's destructive ideology have led to the creation of international terrorist groups. They send them weapons and money to achieve their regional goals and remove Syrian officials from power,” she said.

The Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman noted that Moscow has intensified diplomatic channels to put an end to tensions in Syria.

“We are in constant contact with the guarantor countries through our diplomatic channels…We have phone calls and are planning a number of meetings in the future,” Zakharova said.

Russia is reportedly set to meet with Iran and Turkey in Doha later this month to discuss the situation in Syria, but the meeting has yet to be officially announced.

This comes amid an escalation of violence in Syria, as a coalition of Syrian rebel groups spearheaded by the jihadist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the Syrian National Army (SNA) launched a major offensive against the Syrian army over the past week. They took control of the northern city of Aleppo, the largest in the country, and advanced their offensive into Hama province.

At least 713 people, mostly combatants but also 110 civilians, have been killed since fighting erupted in Syria a week ago, according to the Observatory.

Niyaz Mustafa contributed to this report
 

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