Russian Foreign Minister praises Egypt's decision not to send troops to Syria
Russia positively assesses Egypt's decision not to send troops to Syria according to the proposal of the United States, stated Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri following the talks between the Foreign and Defense Ministers of Russia and Egypt.
"We touched upon this topic in the context of the discussion of the situation in Syria, in the context of the discussion of the actions of the so-called external players, including, of course, the United States, because it is them who came up with the idea to invite the Arab countries to send their contingents to the Syrian Arab Republic. In my opinion, it is done with dual purpose: on the one hand, to share responsibility for direct and gross violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria, which did not invite the United States and other participants of the US-led coalition into its territory, and the second objective - to share the financial burden, " Lavrov said.
"They speak about it openly in Washington. I think everyone understands what is behind this invitation, and we appreciate the position that Egypt has taken," the Russian Foreign Minister noted.
"We discussed this issue in the framework of the general discussion. Egypt has repeatedly stressed that it will not send troops, since the Egyptian military doctrine dictates that the Egyptian Armed forces should protect only the borders [of the country]. We discuss these issues from the theoretical point of view, only as possible steps, "the Egyptian Foreign Minister said in turn.
Earlier, the media reported about the possible deployment of the joint Arab forces, including Egyptian troops, to the territories of Syria which are under the control of the US-led coalition. The joint Arab contingent is expected to replace the American troops in Syria in order to “facilitate the stabilization in the northern part of Syria after the defeat of ISIS". Sameh Shukri, commenting on this information, said that Egypt does not consider the possibility of sending its troops to Syria as part of American initiative.