UN Diplomat: Russia fears ISIS revival in US-held areas after Americans leave

Russia is concerned that the ISIS terrorist group may reappear in the areas currently controlled by the United States after the American troops leave these territories, Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Gennady Kuzmin told the UN Security Council on Wednesday.

“The territories under your control have morphed into gray areas where extremists feel very comfortable and terrorists also feel comfortable,” Kuzmin said. “We have fears that there may be a reincarnation of ISIS in those regions when the US withdraws from those regions. And they will have to, sooner or later, withdraw from those regions.”

Kuzmin directly addressed the US representative to the United Nations, asking her to explain what the United States was doing in the areas it controls in the country and on what basis.

“What specifically is taking place with several hundred members of Daesh who are helped by forces loyal to you with your oversight?” he asked. “There has been no investigation carried out with respect to those individuals. The countries of origin of terrorists are also not receiving those terrorists. You are not extraditing them to their countries of origin.”

Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with government forces fighting against numerous opposition groups and terrorist organizations. Russia, along with Turkey and Iran, is one of the guarantor states of the Syrian ceasefire regime. Moscow has also been assisting Damascus by providing humanitarian aid to the residents of the crisis-torn country.

The US-led coalition of more than 70 members is conducting military operations against the Daesh terror group in Syria and Iraq. The coalition’s strikes in Iraq are conducted in cooperation with Iraqi officials, but those in Syria are not authorized by the government of President Bashar Assad or the United Nations Security Council.

Source: Sputnik