"We will decide on how our air forces should act, depending on the situation," Lavrov said in a media conference following talks with his Finnish counterpart. "This will not be a surprise for the Americans."
Al-Nusra Front, an al Qaeda offshoot in Syria, went on an offensive in Aleppo last week. The Russian military blamed the US for stalling Russian airstrikes against the terrorist group's forces in the region. The US said moderate rebel groups mingled with the terrorists in some areas and that Russia should use caution and not strike those groups by mistake.
"We believe there was plenty of time for the 'normal' opposition to leave Nusra Front territories since February. Those who didn't part ways with the terrorists have only themselves to blame," Lavrov added.
Moscow hopes that the US is not trying to do anything behind Russia's back, Lavrov said.
"We expect our partners to cooperate with us honestly and not try to use our regular contacts to secretly go with a Plan B, C or D behind our back."Russia and the US jointly support a peace process in Syria that aims to produce a transition government approved by both the so-called "moderate rebel" groups and the government of Syria. A truce between all sides who claim to share this goal was established in February, reducing the violence in the war-torn country.
Terrorist groups Al Nusra Front and Islamic State are not part of the process and do not uphold the ceasefire. Russia accuses certain other Islamist militant groups operating in Syria of not being honest and siding with the terrorists, but the US opposes designating those groups as legitimate targets for military attacks, arguing that they have the backing of Saudi Arabia and a place at the negotiating table in Geneva.
The situation is further complicated by the sheer number of armed groups in Syria and the complexity of their allegiances and rivalries, which makes distinguishing terrorists and "moderate rebels" often problematic.
Reeaaally:
The situation is further complicated by the sheer number of armed groups in Syria and the complexity of their allegiances and rivalries, which makes distinguishing terrorists and "moderate rebels" often problematic.
Hah!!! No, it's simple. If you hang out with people taking up arms against the EXTREMELY POPULAR, DEMOCRATIC LEGAL GOVERNMENT of a country, during a time of war, while one of the world's most advanced air forces is supporting the clearing out of your scum brethren, you are deciding your own fate. There is no problem. The state has given many chances for amnesty. Anybody who is fighting and not aligned with Syria is part of the problem, and it's well past time that the games stop and the real work happens to stabilize things.
Calling this situation "problematic" is like calling a psychopath murdering an entirely family "inconvenient". The lack of separation between full on terrorists and other groups is a transparent, deliberate tactic to continue keeping the entire region in chaos either in full confluence with western plans or due to useful idiocy. The fact that Turkey is actively coordinating with terrorist groups to defend the Azaz corridor makes it quite clear that anybody who is with them (who isn't a captive in an occupied town) is PART OF THE KILLING MACHINE.