ASTANA. Nov 29 (Interfax) - Russia stands ready to provide assistance to the moderate Syrian opposition to eliminate Jabhat al-Nusra (banned in Russia), Russian Special Presidential Representative for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev said on Thursday.
"If need be, Russia is prepared to provide support and assistance to the moderate opposition in eliminating this organization in Syrian territory," Lavrentyev said at a press conference following the 11th round of Syria talks in Astana on Thursday.
The war on terror in Syria is still a live issue, he said.
"We have drawn the attention of Syrian opposition members, among others, to this," he said.
"The presence of militants from the terrorist organization Jabhat al-Nusra, which has been designated as terrorist by the UN, in the Idlib de-escalation area is unacceptable," Lavrentyev said.
"And there are about 15,000 such militants there. The Syrian armed opposition has also acknowledged this," he said.