© Sputnik/Ilya Pitalev
During his recent visit to Moscow, US Secretary of State John Kerry voiced several preconditions for US-Russia cooperation in Syria.
According to Lavrov, Kerry called for the immediate resignation of Syrian President Assad without giving any explanation of his position.
"They say that we could join our efforts in the fight against terrorism [...] but first we need to agree that we remove Assad from power," Lavrov said, speaking at a national youth educational forum.
According to Lavrov, Kerry is convinced the vast majority of Syria's population doesn't support Assad. In response, Lavrov suggested that the new president in Syria should be elected in a democratic way.
Comment: What complete and utter horse hockey. Kerry is either a total idiot or a malicious liar. Assad retains the support of the vast majority of Syrians. Kerry's arrogance is stunning. We hope this was the response to the U.S.'s 'preconditions': Russia bombs U.S./UK rebel base in Syria, says incidents like this wouldn't happen if U.S. shared data as they're supposed to
As for Assad's popularity, just listen to this highly insightful talk with Virginia State Senator Richard Black on his recent trip to Syria:
Now Washington has banned Russia from joining the U.S.'s anti-ISIS coalition, since it "does not trust" Moscow. Seriously, you can't make this stuff up. The Americans have completely lost the plot, and they don't seem to have any clue what total morons they are. Dunning-Kruger strikes again!
Moreover, Lavrov negatively assessed Western policy in the Middle East and North Africa and referred to the West as "a bull in a china shop".
"What is happening in the Middle East, in North Africa is a direct result of a very incompetent, unprofessional attitude to the situation. In an attempt to maintain their dominance, our Western partners have acted like a bull in a china shop," Lavrov said.
Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups. The United States and their western allies have many times tried to accuse Assad of being responsible for the bloodshed and insisted on his resignation.
Following Russia's military success in Syria (Russia deployed forces in the country at Assad's official request), many experts and media sources argued that Western countries gave up their demand to overthrow Assad and focused on the fight against terrorism. However, Kerry's statement shows that the West is far from giving up its initial approach.
Obviously Assad will outlast the lame duck Obama, and of course Kerry will leave office in January too.