Russian intelligence chief accuses US of training Daesh/ISIS in Syria for attacks in Russia

MOSCOW

The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service chief on Wednesday accused the US of training Daesh/ISIS terrorists to carry out sabotage and terrorist attacks in Syria and Russia.

Sergey Naryshkin claimed at the XI International Meeting of High Representatives in Charge of Security Issues in the Moscow region that the US Al-Tanf military base, located on the border of Syria, Jordan, and Iraq, is used for training Daesh/ISIS terrorists to carry out sabotage and terrorist attacks in Syria and Russia.

The intelligence director pointed out that the US occupies Syrian territories, specifically those where it has built a military base and is waging an economic war in the form of sanctions against Damascus, which prevents the restoration of the country.

To back up his claim, Naryshkin cited a wave of rapprochement between Iran and Arab countries, claiming that the level of mutual trust in the Middle East has recently increased; nonetheless, the US authorities are "sharply" rejecting it.

Normalization of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, he claimed, "provoked a painful reaction" in London and Washington.

According to the Russian intelligence chief, the US, and UK have been “used to playing on inter-Islamic contradictions," in line with their positions, which is why their relevant bodies launched a smear campaign aimed at undermining the dialogue between Iran and Saudi Arabia and discrediting China’s mediation role.

"The traces of this destructive work are already clearly visible in the global information space," he claimed.

He also mentioned the opportunities that have arisen in the region as a result of the restoration of relations between Riyadh and Teheran, such as the settlement of the conflict in Yemen and the de-escalation of tensions in Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon.

Simultaneously, he alleged that the US is developing plans for an information war against Russia with the goal to drive a wedge between Moscow and the Middle East.

"Anglo-Saxons can be advised to deal with their internal civil conflicts, or even better – reach out to their old friend, to the devil," he said.

The intelligence chief also claimed that the UK is "intensively" working with European partners to prevent any mediation between Russia and Ukraine "as long as Kyiv is able to carry out strikes on Russia."

Last year, he recalled that during talks in Istanbul, Türkiye, Moscow and Kyiv came close to reaching an agreement to end the conflict.

"The draft agreement was approved by the parties, but these agreements were thwarted because Washington and London strictly forbade their Ukrainian vassals to conduct peace talks with the Russian side and ordered Kyiv to fight, as they say, to the last Ukrainian," he claimed.

The official noted that the West could help ensure global prosperity and security, but "insane pride tightly closed such an opportunity for them."

"In their pride, Western totalitarian-liberal regimes led by the US have gone so far as to encroach on human nature itself. De facto, they want to destroy everything human in man, turn him from a free being into a fully controlled ‘transhumance chimera,’" he alleged.

According to Naryshkin, the vast majority of countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America do not share such a vision, and even when pressed, refuse to join sanctions against Russia, and the situation in Ukraine only "strengthens the general desire to increase independence."

"I am convinced that by joining efforts, showing courage and wisdom, we will be able to solve the common task of ensuring security and prosperity both in certain regions of the world and on the whole planet," he said.

He said of the West, "Their end will be according to their deeds. And this means that their end will be sad."