Russia says US idea of Syria Group of Friends illegal

The Russian Foreign Ministry believes that the US idea of setting up an international "Group of Friends" to support Syrian opposition is illegal.

"We are apprehensive of various formats which we do not regard as legal in international law," official spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Aleksandr Lukashevich told a briefing in Moscow on Thursday [9 February] in reply to a question from Interfax.

"There is the extremely negative experience of the creation of these formats, in particular, the example of Libya," he said.

"We are opposed to any formats that are set to intensify foreign intervention in internal conflicts on the side of one of the conflicting parties. These formats cannot of course draw up any strategic line in the settlement process, and even more obviously, have no legitimacy in international law," Lukashevich stressed.