Russian Foreign Minister Warns Kerry Of “Unintended Incidents”

This past week has not been a good one for US-Russian relations, as officials on both sides go tit for tat over the civil war in Syria. After Putin admitted to supplying equipment and training to the Assad regime, anonymous US intelligence sources claimed that the Russians were attempting to build a military base in the Syrian port city of Lakatia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov responded by calling on world powers to help Assad fight ISIS.

Lavrov has since criticized Secretary of State John Kerry for asserting that supporting Assad only emboldens ISIS, as well Washington’s policy of aiding the violent opposition groups that oppose him. “It’s an absolutely upside-down logic and yet another attempt to appease those who use terrorists to fight dissenting regimes.” Yet his most scathing review of Kerry’s positions came later in the week, when he blamed the US for the communication breakdown between US and NATO forces in Europe, calling these contacts “important for the avoidance of undesired, unintended incidents.”

In other words, Lavrov is washing his hands of any blame for any accidental skirmishes that may arise between US and Russian forces, in Europe or in Syria. “If, as John Kerry has said many times, the United States wants those channels frozen, then be our guest.”