MUNICH. Feb 3 (Interfax) - The Syrian armed opposition group Islamic Front, with whose assistance the foreign stakeholders in the conflict in Syria are trying to combat terrorism in the country, is in fact a terrorist organization itself, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Lavrov noted that, while some are trying to combat the terrorist organizations Al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant through establishing a new association called the Islamic Front, the groups comprising the Islamic Front are pretty similar to Al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
At least one of these groups was involved, together with Al-Nusra Front, in the Adra massacre in Syria, in which dozens of Christians, Druze, and other minorities were slain, he added.
Militants migrate between the Islamic Front, Al-Nusra Front, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant depending on who pays more, and therefore Russia has great doubts that the Islamic Front could serve as an alternative to terrorists, Lavrov said.
Moreover, some even suggest inviting Islamic Front representatives to the Geneva II international conference, but in this case members of the internal opposition who have never emigrated from Syria should also be invited there, he said.
This internal opposition has been accused of being loyal to Bashar al-Assad's regime, which Lavrov said is wrong, suggesting that loyalty to a regime should not be confused with loyalty to a country and there is nothing wrong about being loyal to one's country.
The National Coordination Committee, the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or the Popular Front for Liberation and Change are groups that want to take part in determining their country's fate, he said.
With all due respect paid to Syrian National Coalition head Ahmad Jarba and his partners, the National Coalition has lost several groups, which pulled out of it, among other reasons, as a sign of protest against the Geneva negotiations, he added.
Therefore, neither Russia nor the U.S. or anyone else can do anything on their own, while they can do a lot if they act together patiently and consistently, Lavrov said.