MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The ongoing crises in the Middle East and North Africa, including an "unprecedented outburst" of terrorism, are largely a result of foreign intervention, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said Thursday.
"Currently, the Middle East and North Africa are facing a period of serious hardships due to increasing ethnic and regional differences and the unprecedented outburst of terrorism and extremism. Largely, this state of affairs became the result of a range of countries applying geopolitical engineering by intervening in internal affairs of sovereign states, attempts to change unwanted regimes, including by force," Bogdanov told reporters.
"Despite the support of the so-called US-led anti-Daesh coalition, the Iraqi army and militia forces play the decisive role in the fight against Daesh terrorists [on Iraqi territory]," Bogdanov said at a conference on the situation in the Middle East.
"In that regard, we are helping the Iraqi authorities in fight against terrorists and in preserving the country's territorial integrity through supplying the Iraqi armed forces with weaponry and military equipment," he stressed.
According to Bogdanov, the liberation of Iraq's Mosul could become a turning point in the fight against Daesh as the city with population of 1.5 million is considered a key Daesh stronghold in that country.
Russia Hopeful Agreements Reached With US on Syria to Be Needed in Future
Russia is not losing hope that its agreements with the United States on Syria as co-chairs of the International Syria Support Group will be needed in the future, Bogdanov said.
"We don't lose hope that understanding [between Moscow and Washington], which was earned so hard, will be needed," he said.
