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Russia Does Not Need to Be Invited to Fight Terrorism: Foreign Ministry

RIA Novosti

15:01 08/10/2014
Updated 4:20 p.m. Moscow Time

MOSCOW, October 8 (RIA Novosti) – The United States has been knocking on 'all doors' in attempts to put together an alliance to fight the Islamic State (IS) extremists under the US aegis, but Russia joined the fight against terrorism long ago and does not need to be invited again, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said Wednesday.

'It is well known that the United States have been, as they say, 'knocking on all doors', trying to create an alliance under it aegis,' the diplomat said in an interview with RIA Novosti, while answering the question whether Russia has been invited to join the international coalition to combat the IS.

'We have been involved in a fierce fight against terrorism, including on the international arena, for a long time and we don't need additional invitations [to join the US-led alliance],' Bogdanov added.

According to Bogdanov, Moscow insists that 'any such actions must be carried out in strict adherence to the international law.'

'We support healthy constructive bilateral relations with Syria, Iraq and other countries in the region and we are and will be taking proactive measures, on clear legal basis and in strict compliance with our international obligations, to strengthen the capacity of these countries to cope with international terrorists and extremists,' the diplomat stressed.

The IS, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), has been fighting the Syrian government since 2012. In June 2014, the group extended its attacks to northern and western Iraq, declaring a caliphate on the territories under its control in both countries.

In September, US President Barack Obama unveiled a strategy to defeat the IS insurgency by creating an international anti-IS coalition and conducting airstrikes against IS targets in Syria, in addition to strikes in Iraq authorized by the US leader back in August. The US-led coalition is currently comprised of more than 60 countries, according to the State Department.