al-Nusra Front terrorist in Syria
© Sputnik/ Iliya Pitalev
The United States seems to want al-Nusra Front terrorist group to remain in some form in Syria and use it to achieve own goals, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged the US earlier this month to convince those rebel groups which they support in Syria to leave areas where al-Nusra Front militants are present.

Earlier, Washington asked Moscow to direct its airstrikes solely at al-Nusra Front and refrain from targeting so-called "moderate" rebels, working with al-Qaeda's branch in Syria.

"The Americans are now saying that they are unable to remove the 'good' opposition members from the positions held by al-Nusra Front, and that they will need another two-three months. I am under the impression that there is a game here and they may want to keep al-Nusra Front in some form and later use it to overthrow the [Assad] regime," Lavrov said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

The US-Russian brokered ceasefire entered into force across Syria on February 27. Terrorist organizations such the Daesh and al-Nusra Front are excluded from the truce.