US exceptionalism hinders fight on terrorism: Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says the United States' belief in being an “exceptional” country is an impediment to the fight against terrorism.

“The factor which is not helping the matter is the American comprehension of being an exceptional nation,” Lavrov said in a Wednesday interview with Russia’s Zvezda TV channel.

“It sets a stamp upon how they decide to fight terrorism: in depth, in width and against individuals,” he added.

The Russian minister also criticized US double standards in countering terrorism, saying the US-led coalition purportedly fighting the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group treats Iraq in a different way from Syria.

Since September 2014, the US along with some of its allies has been conducting airstrikes against what are said to be Daesh terrorists inside Syria without any authorization from Damascus or the United Nations.

The air raids in Syria are an extension of the US-led aerial campaign against purported Daesh positions in Iraq, which started in August 2014. Many have criticized the raids as being largely ineffective.

Moscow, itself, launched airstrikes against Daesh and other terrorist groups in Syria on September 30 upon a request from the Damascus government.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Lavrov said a political settlement in Syria must not depend on the future of President Bashar al-Assad, criticizing certain countries that demand guarantees for Assad’s departure before finding any solution to the conflict.

He said Moscow cannot yield to anyone’s whims regarding the future of Assad.

The Russian official further said Turkey impudently mimicked the "arrogant" conduct of the US-led coalition by deploying forces into Iraq.

“Hadn't there been such arrogant approach on part of the US-led coalition toward bombing terrorists in Syria without the authorization of the country’s government, Turkey would not dare to behave in such an impudent way toward Iraq,” Lavrov noted.

On December 4, Turkey deployed some 150 soldiers, equipped with heavy weapons and backed by 20 to 25 tanks, to the outskirts of the city of Mosul, the capital of Iraq’s Nineveh Province.

Ankara claimed the deployment was part of a mission to train and equip Iraq's Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the fight against Daesh.

Baghdad has strongly condemned the presence of the Turkish battalion on the Iraqi territory, branding the uncoordinated act as a violation of Iraq's national sovereignty.

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