MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Western countries should fight against terrorism not in word, but in deed, while changing their position on the Syrian crisis to reach the settlement of the conflict, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanaei told Sputnik Tuesday.
"Terrorism is the primary threat and the most important problem for Iran and Russia both in theory and in practice. That's why we consider that all the forces should be combined to tackle this issue and only after that [the countries could] be engaged in other problems. And there are the Western states that say in theory that terrorism is a problem, but in practice they sometimes have other priorities and plans. That's why the problem cannot be solved yet," Sanaei said.
Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to President Assad fighting numerous opposition groups and terrorist organizations such as Daesh and al-Nusra Front. Since the war's beginning it has claimed lives of thousands of people and displaced millions more. The international community has undertaken steps to end the Syrian conflict and to solve the humanitarian crisis in the Middle Eastern country.
