Lavrov Explains Why List of Terror Groups in Syria Needed

It is necessary to agree on a list of terrorist organizations in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday.

SOCHI (Sputnik) — Lavrov said that the issue was crucial since any potential ceasefire in Syria as part of a political process in the country should not affect the fight against terrorist groups.

"There is a need to agree on a list of terrorist organizations, so that no one has doubts, hesitations about the affiliation of one or another armed group," Lavrov told journalists during a briefing about the agenda of the upcoming Vienna meeting on Syria.

Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with the country’s government fighting a number of opposition factions and radical Islamist militant organizations, including ISIL and the Nusra Front.

On October 30, top diplomats from almost 20 countries, including Russia and the United States, as well as UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, met in the Austrian capital of Vienna to discuss efforts to end to the four-year war in Syria. A second round of international talks on the Syrian crisis will be held in Vienna on Saturday.