Lavrov Blasts US-Led Coalition for Trying to Protect Nusra Front in Syria

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov slammed Monday the United States for covertly protecting the Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist group that has taken part in the civil war in Syria.

AMMAN (Sputnik) — Lavrov said that the situation around the Nusra Front terrorist group (also known as Jabhat al-Nusra, banned in Russia) in Syria remains "very ambiguous," as some members of the US-led coalition are constantly trying to protect militants from being eliminated.

"They [the US] did not have the spirit or the courage or the ability… to dissociate Jabhat al-Nusra from those oppositionists [of Syria] with which the US side cooperated… This is absolutely unacceptable," Lavrov said after talks with his Jordanian counterpart.

The Nusra Front is a Salafist jihadist organization, which was formed in 2012 as an affiliate of al-Qaeda in Syria. At the time, US media praised it as the most powerful opposition group in the country. The organization gained power during the Syrian civil war, where it has been fighting against the country's legitimate authorities.

Since 2016 the group has been designated as a terrorist organization by the UN and the number of countries, including the US.

The Russian military has been fighting Nusra Front militants since the start of its campaign in Syria in 2015. Earlier in September, the Russian general staff said that the ongoing operation in Syria will continue until the terrorists from the Nusra Front and Daesh are completely eliminated.