“The actions of the United States in the Syrian Arab Republic are contrary to international law. The US and members of the US-led coalition are illegally in Syria, contrary to the position of the legitimate government of the SAR, ”he said after talks with Turkish and Iranian Foreign Ministers Mevlut Cavusoglu and Mohammad Javad Zarif in Geneva.
According to him, the fact that after the statement on the withdrawal of troops from Syria, the military was still left to “protect the oil fields from IS *,” is a pretext.
“Moreover, in March of this year, the leadership of the United States announced that ISIS was defeated, destroyed to the end. But if we take the situation in principle, then, of course, this is an illegal action, and in the United States themselves a discussion has begun in the expert community on how to evaluate what is happening now. Experts express an opinion with which we absolutely agree, and at the same time cite the decisions of international courts on similar situations, ”Lavrov said.
As the Minister noted, these decisions consist in the fact that any exploitation of the natural resources of a sovereign state without his consent is illegal. Russia will defend this position, Lavrov added.
Earlier, the head of the Pentagon, Mark Esper, said that US troops will continue to protect oil fields in Syria and will respond to any attempts by other parties to take control of them.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, US government agencies earn over $ 30 million a month from the production of contraband oil in Syria.
* “Islamic State” (ISIS, ISIS) - the organization was recognized as terrorist by decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of December 29, 2014.