Foreign Miniszter Szijjarto: coordinated US-Russian action needed in Syria

Budapest, October 2 (MTI) – An agreement between the US and Russia to take coordinated action in Syria is a precondition for breakthrough success in the fight against Islamic State, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in New York on Thursday, local time.

He told public news portal hirado.hu by phone that action against the terrorist organisation needs to be increased. The participants’ willingness to up the fight has already been expressed but they have not yet acted on it, Szijjarto added.

Russia’s air strikes against IS in Syria, on the approval of Bashar al-Assad’s government, have been a subject of debate in the United Nations and the US has condemned them, Szijjarto said. This is aggravating because instead of coordination talks about the details of joint action and cooperation, a debate has been strarted about who is bombing where, Szijjarto added. He expressed hope that the large powers will demonstrate “pragmatic thinking” and make decisions in line with global interests.