Paris, SANA – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov affirmed that Russia will provide military support and other forms of support to Syria and Iraq to help them in their war against terrorism.

In a statement made on Monday on the sideline of a conference on Iraq held in Paris, Lavrov said that Russia has discussed its contribution to supporting the Iraqi government in its war against terrorism, and that in the same context Russia is providing military support and other forms of support to Syria which is facing a similar terrorist threat.

He affirmed that Syria and Iran are “the natural ally for Russia in the war against terrorist organization of ISIS.”

Lavrov warned that directing strikes against the Islamic state in Iraq and Sham terrorist organization in Syria without the approval of the Syrian government will have dangerous repercussions.

He also said that Russia proposed an initiative for holding an international conference with the purpose of addressing the issue of combating extremism and terrorism in the Middle East and North Africa within the framework of the Security Council.

Lavrov said that Russia proposed that a in-depth, comprehensive, and objective analysis of how to combat terrorism and extremism, calling for tackling this issue at the Security Council without excluding vital factors that contribute to the escalation of terrorism including the funding and arming of terrorism and the terrorist groups’ selling of stolen petroleum.

He also called for exerting efforts to prevent youths from joining terrorist organizations.

Hazem Sabbagh/ Mazen