MOSCOW. July 3 (Interfax) - Russia and the United States have profound and fundamental disagreements over the approach to a number of international problems, including the way of fighting terrorism, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the newspaper Izvestia in an interview.
"We can see what has been happening in Syria. In fact, we have different ideas of a legitimate government and a way to fight terrorism," Ryabkov said.
Russia and the United States are not on the same page about strategic stability issues either, he said.
"We stand for the unconditional preservation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria. This is an inseparable part of our policy, which is not subject to adjustment. We believe that the Astana process, which has drastically reduced the level of violence in that country and which, by the way, is open to the United States, is an important or even keynote element of the transition to a more peaceful and tranquil progress. Astana organically supplements the Geneva process. Russia has been its very active participant, as well," Ryabkov said.
"Our proposals on the development of the constitutional process and direct forms of dialogue, from the discussion of counterterrorism to the resolution of humanitarian problems, between the lawful government in Damascus and the opposition is the path that should be followed," he said.
Some of the U.S. actions demonstrate the lasting wish to play into the hands of a conflicting side, in particular, by means of military force, Ryabkov said.
"We have repeatedly declared our rejection of such approaches. Terrorists cannot be divided into bad and not so bad, and this division should not be used to achieve one's geopolitical ends. Regretfully, so many interests and factors have been tangled in this mass of contradictions that there can be no simple solutions, which the Americans apply in error all the time. Only a comprehensive approach with every involved side can be fruitful. We have been working on this in a consistent and unwavering manner for many years," he said.
No agreements can be reached with the terrorists, Ryabkov said.
"The eradication of the terrorist nest in Syria was and remains a key task. If the United States had been constructive about the initiative of forming a broad anti-terrorist front put forward by Russian President Vladimir Putin, lots of misunderstandings and distortions of approaches could have been avoided. We are urging the Americans to keep this in mind in their policy," the deputy minister said.