Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Zakharova Holds Weekly Press Briefing

© REUTERS / U.S. Department of Defense, Missile Defense Agency/Handout Two Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors are launched during a successful intercept test.
Two Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors are launched during a successful intercept test. - Sputnik International
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Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented on the situation on the Korean Peninsula, a deadly earthquake in Italy, Daesh chemical weapons as well as Moscow-Tokyo relations during her weekly press briefing.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US State Secretary John Kerry will discuss the prospects of full anti-terrorist cooperation in Syria at their talks in Geneva on August 26, the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Thursday.

"It is expected that the meeting will be focused on issues of Syrian settlement, including the prospects of establishing tight coordination of Russian and US actions in the fight against terrorist groups operating in Syria today," Maria Zakharova said.

The diplomats confirmed their meeting in phone talks held early Wednesday, Zakharova added.

The upcoming meeting was preceded by expert military-to-military consultations Tuesday on joint work to organize humanitarian pauses in Aleppo and ensure the safety of convoys traveling on Castello road, according to sources.

Olympics and Paraolympics

Zakharova praised Russian athletes for their performance and the spirit they displayed at the Rio Olympics and deplored the ban on the Russian paraolympic team. The CAS decision to uphold the ban on the Russian team is inhumane and breaches the rights of people with disabilities.

"It is the principle of collective responsibility for unproven crimes," Zakharova said.

On Tuesday, the CAS upheld the IPC’s August 7 ruling to suspend Russian paralympians from the upcoming Summer Games in Rio, thus dismissing Russia’s August 15 appeal.

The Russian side is deeply concerned about the violations of the rights of clean athletes, the spokeswoman said adding that the ban breaches human rights.

"The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is based on the principle of equality for persons with and without disabilities. In this regard, it has to be noted that unlike Olympians without disabilities, who were allowed to compete in the Rio Olympics at the decision of the arbitration court in Lausanne, Russian athletes representing people with disabilities were deprived of this opportunity in the context of the Paralympic Games," ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters.

"What is this, if not a flagrant violation of the aforementioned fundamental principle of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities?" she added.

Italy Earthquake

Russia stands ready to help Italy to cope with the aftermath of the deadly quake and send rescuers, Zakharova reiterated.

The earthquake struck the mountainous regions of Umbria, Lazio and Marche in the early hours of Wednesday, causing extensive damage and scores of aftershocks. The disaster has left over 240 people dead.
Syria

Maria Zakharova said that the policy of some Western states had triggered increase in terrorism. She criticized the opponents of President Bashar Assad for reluctance to help settle the Syrian crisis.

Moscow welcomes the release of the third UN and Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) report on chemical weapons use in Syria, which confirms that Daesh militants have chemical weapons, Zakharova said.


"I would like to comment on the release of the third report of the joint UN-OPCW mechanism to investigate chemical weapons use in Syria. We welcome the release of this report… we can say this now, and of course this was not a revelation for us that Daesh militants have chemical weapons, they use them not only in Iraq, but also Syria."

 

She reminded that Moscow had warned about Daesh being in possession of chemical weapons numerous times.

On Wednesday, the United States called on Russia and Iran to join efforts to seek accountability for those responsible for using chemical weapons in Syria, after the United Nations released the results of a probe into chemical weapons attacks in Syria in 2014 and 2015 that implicated the Syrian government and the Daesh terrorist group.

Militants shell a district in Aleppo - Sputnik International
US-Backed 'Moderate Rebels' Launched Toxic Gas Attack in Aleppo August 2
Earlier on Thursday, Sergei Lavrov said Washington should do what it promised to do regarding separating the moderate Syrian opposition from terrorists instead of making claims regarding Damascus allegedly using chemical weapons.

On Wednesday, the UN and OPCW released the results of a probe into chemical weapons attacks in Syria in 2014 and 2015 that said the Syrian government was allegedly involved in two and Daesh, outlawed in Russia, in one attack.

 

Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with numerous opposition factions and Islamic extremist groups fighting the Syrian Army and other government forces loyal to President Bashar Assad.

In August 2013, a mission to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons was announced after a deadly gas attack that killed hundreds outside Damascus. On January 4, OPCW announced that all chemical weapons in Syria had been destroyed, however, in April reports emerged that radical militants could be using and producing chemical weapons in Syria.

Only actions coordinated with Damascus will help attain the common goal of settling the Syrian crisis, Zakharova said.

Russia is deeply concerned about clashes between pro-government forces and Kurdish units. All Syrian patriots, Arabs and Kurds, should avoid fratricidal war as they have one common enemy — terrorists, the spokeswoman said.

The failed example of a no-fly zone established in Libya five years ago feeds Russia’s skepticism toward a proposal to establish the same zone over Syrian airspace,  Zakharova said.

 

"There has been the experience of creating a no-fly zone in Libya in world practice, we all remember how it ended. We remember who initiated them, moreover they have been tested and approved by the UN Security Council. But the way this was implemented in practice, I believe it is difficult to talk about zones after that, about unilateral actions on their establishment, because we remember how the recent experience ended."

Discussions of enforcing a no-fly zone in Syria resurfaced this week after Turkey launched its Euphrates Shield mission with US-led coalition backing and the stated aim of clearing the border town of Jabulus from Daesh jihadists.

Damascus and Syrian Kurds accuse Ankara of violating Syrian sovereignty with the campaign involving 200 troops and mechanized units, as well as 150 special forces, and 13 F-16 fighters.

Russia-Japan Relations

Moscow expects that the Russia-Japan talks on August 26 on signing a post-World War II peace treaty will be constructive, Maria Zakharova said.

Japan and the Soviet Union failed to sign a post-WWII peace treaty due to Tokyo's claims to Southern Kuril Islands. Earlier this month, media reports emerged claiming that senior Russian and Japanese diplomats would met in Moscow on August 26 for a new round of talks on the belated peace pact.

 

"As far as the talks which are scheduled for the 26th with participation of Russian Deputy Foreign Minister [Igor] Morgulov, we believe that they will be productive and constructive," Zakharova said.

Migrant Crisis in Europe

Russia is worried by the multiple facts of migrant deaths in the Mediterranean, the spokeswoman said. The key to resolve the crisis is the peace process in Syria and Iraq, Zakharova emphasized.

Korean Peninsula

The reason behind the ongoing crisis is the sides' reluctance to hold peace talks. As for North Korean missile launches, Pyongyang should adhere to UN Security Council's decisions, the spokeswoman said. She reiterated Moscow's call for denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. All sides should exercise restraint and and prevent escalation, she added.

The decision to deploy US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system in South Korea will further complicate the situation in the region, since its capabilities go beyond the task of North Korea deterrence, the Zakharova said.

"We consider the decision made by the United States and the Republic of Korea to deploy US missile defense system in Korea's south an additional aggravating factor. We believe that the deployment of this system in the Republic of Korea goes beyond the task of deterrence of the so-called North Korean threat."

Two Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors are launched during a successful intercept test. (File) - Sputnik International
How US' THAAD-Like Naval System in S Korea Affects Russian Missile Forces
In July, South Korea and the United States announced that they had agreed to deploy the THAAD missile system in the South Korean Seongju County amid increased tensions on the peninsula.

The THAAD system is designed to intercept short, medium and intermediate ballistic missiles at the terminal incoming stage. The system's deployment to Seoul has caused concerns in North Korea, as well as China and Russia.

"We are extremely concerned by the large-scale US-South Korean military exercises which began a few days ago. These exercises have already triggered an extremely sharp reaction from DPRK [North Korea]. We are concerned that, given the worsening tensions in the Korean peninsula, such military exercise…can become that pretext, that spark that can really ignite this situation," Zakharova added.

The annual military exercise, codenamed Ulchi Freedom Guardian, by US and South Korean troops kicked off on Monday and will last until September 2. It brings together tens of thousands of soldiers for two weeks of drills that simulate a full-scale invasion by North Korea.

In response, the General Staff of the Korean People's Army (KPA) warned that North Korea is ready to launch a "preemptive nuclear strike" at the United States and the South at the slightest sign of provocation.

According to the spokeswoman, Moscow currently sees no possibilities to normalize the situation on the peninsula.

NGOs

Russia welcomes the activities of those NGO's whose actions coincide with their stated aims, Zakharova said.

NATO in Baltics

The activity of NATO in the Baltic Region does not help to improve security in Northern Europe, the diplomat warned.

Reuters on Crimea

Crimea remains a tourist magnet for people from Russia, Ukraine and other countries, Zakharova said refuting a Reuters publication claiming that the tourist season in Crimea has been unsuccessful. More and more guests are visiting the peninsula, and even this fact easily disproves the Reuters story, she said.

Crimeans voted to leave Ukraine for Russia in a March 2014 referendum.

Russia-Turkey Relations

Relations can be ruined very quickly but it takes time and incremental steps to restore them, spokeswoman Zakharova said.

On August 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who arrived in St. Petersburg for talks to reset bilateral relations which had been nearly severed by the downing of Russian Su-24 bomber over Syria by Ankara in November 2015.

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