Russian FM Sergey Lavrov On The Eve Of The Collapse Of The Assad Regime: HTS Is Not An 'Opposition Group' As Al Jazeera Claims – They Are Terrorists; 'We Are Doing Everything Not To Allow Terrorists To Prevail, Even If They Say That They Are No Longer Terrorists'

On the eve of the collapse of Bashar Al-Assad's regime in Syria, in a December 7, 2024, interview at the Al-Jazeera Forum in Doha, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov condemned the possibility of a terrorist group, specifically HTS, taking control of Syrian territory. Lavrov criticized Al Jazeera's characterization of HTS as merely an "opposition group," emphasizing that HTS is a listed terrorist organization by both the UNSC and the U.S. He also mentioned his meetings with Turkish and Iranian counterparts, where they reaffirmed their commitment to Syria's territorial sovereignty and unity, called for an immediate end to hostilities, and urged full implementation of UNSC Resolution 2254. Lavrov advocated for dialogue between the Syrian government and "legitimate opposition" to resolve the conflict, adding, "If you want me to say 'yes, we lost in Syria,' […] I am not in the business of guessing. We are doing everything not to allow terrorists to prevail, even if they say that they are no longer terrorists."

Sergey Lavrov: "It's inadmissible to allow the terrorist group to take control of the lands in violation of agreements which exist starting with the UN Security Council Resolution 2254 which strongly iterated sovereignty, territorial integrity, and unity of the Syrian Republic which condemned any attempts by terrorist to disturb the life of Syrians and which call for direct dialogue between the government and the opposition – and the opposition groups were listed in the resolution.

"If speak about Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham specifically, in 2013 and 2020, two agreements were signed, clearly solidifying the common resolve not to allow Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham to rule in Idlib, to be thrown out of Idlib. And these agreements have not been implemented. Now they are grossly violated.

"I watched your channel this morning and the coverage is very specific, I would say. The anchor man was saying that opposition groups, were taking new and new towns. Opposition groups this is the way, uh Al Jazeera calls Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham, which is I would say not very journalistically clean."

Interviewer: "Well there are more than one groups and clearly at Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham are an opposition group. An opposition to the government to Damascus. It seems a pretty clear description of what they do. You've been having meetings..."

Lavrov: "One second, one second. I understand that you defend your bosses, who call the shots in Al Jazeera, but honest journalism would provide a statement like 'Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham, listed as a terrorist group by the United Nations security council, and the United States by the way. And opposition groups who are not listed.'"

[...]

Interviewer: "I understand that you've had a meeting with your Turkish and Iranian colleagues here in Doha, have you reached any agreements?"

Lavrov: "Yes. We strongly reiterated territorial integrity, sovereignty, and unity, of the Syrian Arab Republic. We called for an immediate end of hostile activities. We stated, all of us, that we want Resolution 2254, to be fully implemented and for this purpose, called for dialogue between the government and legitimate opposition—as provided in that resolution. The main thing is not to say something new. The main thing is [to] implement everything to which you sign up.

[...]

"But once again, if you want me to say 'Yes, we lost in Syria, we are so desperate,' if this is what you need, let's continue. But my point is I am not in the business of guessing what is going to happen. We are trying to do everything not to allow terrorists to prevail, even if they say they are no longer terrorists."