WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — On Wednesday, Lavrov said Moscow and Washington need to join together as soon as possible and as effectively as possible in order to uproot the ISIL.
“We are very much engaged with [Russian] Foreign Minister [Sergei] Lavrov talking on all these issues and a possible way forward. I don’t want to get ahead of what we may decide or how we may move on this, but we are fully engaged,” Toner said when asked if the United States invited Russia to join anti-ISIL coalition in Syria.
The spokesperson added the anti-ISIL coalition is an effort that has brought together a diverse group of governments and entities in common cause because of the extremist group’s depravity and brutality.
“We would always encourage more people to join us in the efforts to defeat and degrade ISIL [Islamic State],” Toner said.
Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011 as government forces fight opposition and radical Islamist militant groups, including the Nusra Front and Islamic State.
Since 2014, a US-led coalition has been launching airstrikes against the group’s positions in Syria and Iraq. The military campaign in Syria is carried out without permission from Damascus.
Russia has repeatedly criticized the coalition’s actions for not seeking approval from the UN Security Council. In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow would support the formation of an anti-terrorism coalition if Syria considered it appropriate and possible.
