Lavrov reminded Kerry that the United States has not yet separated the opposition from the terrorists in Aleppo
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov conducted a telephone call with the secretary of state of the United States, John Kerry.
As reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, a conversation initiated by the United States took place. Lavrov noted that illegal armed groups in eastern Aleppo and its so-called local council refuse to cooperate to resolve the situation.
“It is emphasized that the Russian Aerospace Forces and Syrian Air Forces have not conducted flights in that area for four weeks, but Washington has still not separated ‘moderate’ opposition groups from terrorist groups, although [Kerry] made a commitment to do this within seven days [if air forces cease flights over the area]. It was agreed to continue bilateral expert consultations on finding ways for normalization,” Lavrov noted.
Moreover, the Russian foreign minister expressed outrage at the refusal of an American visa for the president of the World Chess Federation (WCF), Ilyumzhinov, which disrupts his presence at the WCF match for the world championship in New York.
Earlier Ilyumzhinov stated that the US State Department did not give him permission to enter the country to be present at the match for the world chess crown. The match for the title of world chess champion between current chess crown-holder Norwegian Magnus Carlsen and Russian chess grandmaster Sergey Karjakin is taking place in New York from November 11 to November 30.