“We refuse to have talks and do not recommend other parties to hold talks with them over principled considerations,” said Sergei Lavrov in an interview with Russia’s television network NTV on Sunday, in reference to the foreign-backed insurgents in Syria.

He added, “This is not only our concerns that extremists and terrorists call the tune increasingly in different Syrian regions, but this is also the position of all Group of Eight (G8) member states (Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States).”

“This goal is becoming more of a priority considering the growing terrorist threat inside Syria, which is already spilling over into Iraq,” the Russian foreign minister pointed out.

Lavrov said the situation in Syria and on its borders necessitated a quick compromise between the Damascus government and the “reasonable and patriotic” opposition in order for them to unite against the escalating terrorist threat.

The top Russian diplomat further noted that the Al-Nusra front, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and other al-Qaeda branches cannot be involved in the Syrian peace process while their militants are committing terrorist acts in Syria.

This is while the Syrian government and the foreign-backed opposition began their talks on the Syrian crisis in the Swiss town of Montreux on January 22 amid deep rift between the two sides.

The talks have been moving on slowly but with mutual respect between the two sides, as described by the UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi who is mediating the negotiation process.

SHI/SHI