MOSCOW, August 25. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday said Syria itself should be included in the Friends of Syria group.

Established in 2012, the group comprises Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

“I suggest that the Friends of Syria group should after all include Syria itself as the government of (Syrian President) Bashar al-Assad is facing the threat of terrorism,” Lavrov said.

“Until recently, our Western partners in the UN Security Council refused to condemn terrorist acts in Syria. Their logic was very simple: all steps taken against al-Assad cannot be condemned because he himself incited mass riots against himself. Does that mean that terrorism can be justified?” he said.