MOSCOW. Dec 13 (Interfax) - The statements that ISIL, a terrorist group banned in Russia, has not yet been completely defeated in Syria are unacceptable, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.
"Syria is a fully legitimate entity under international law and a UN member, and as ISIL has been eliminated on Syrian soil, no excuses can be accepted for actions violating this state's sovereignty, especially when they involve speculations that ISIL has not yet been completely defeated in Syria, or even if it has been defeated, credit for this should be given mainly to the U.S., the coalition, the Western world, etc.," Zakharova said at a news briefing on Wednesday.
These statements reveal "the active reluctance to acknowledge that ISIL has ceased to exist on Syrian soil as a military-political group," she said.
"Meanwhile, this new objective reality opens the doors to a political settlement of the Syria conflict," Zakharova said.