10 June 2021; MEMO: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday warned the United States over backing Syrian separatists, saying it "may end badly".
Speaking at the Primakov Readings International Forum, Lavrov said: "We stress every time the illegality and illegitimacy of the American presence on Syrian territory, especially since this presence is accompanied by the looting of the natural resources of the Syrian Arab Republic."
"They [Americans] export the production of oil fields and agricultural lands, and use their revenues to support separatists. It is known to everyone, the separatists conflict in the eastern bank of the Euphrate river and they are playing with a very dangerous problem. I mean the Kurdish problem, and these games can end badly," the Russian top diplomat added.
The Primakov Readings International Forum is an annual meeting of experts in the field of international relations and world economy.
Named after renowned Russian politician and diplomat Yevgeny Maksimovich Primakov who served as prime minister from 1998 to 1999, the event is organised by the Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations of Russian Academy of Sciences, World Trade Centre and Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation.
