Russia ready to call on Syria gov't to allow al-Nusra to leave Aleppo armed

Russia is ready to persuade the Syrian government to agree to the al-Nusra militants group fighters' armed departure from Aleppo as proposed by the UN special envoy, Sputnik quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as saying on Friday.

On Thursday, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura proposed to personally accompany Jabhat Fatah al Sham (formerly known as the Nusra Front, banned in Russia) fighters out of Aleppo.

"I heard his statement concerning only Nusra. For God's sake, if al-Nusra leaves with weapons toward Idlib, where its main forces are based, we are ready to support this approach for the sake of Aleppo and will be ready to urge the Syrian government to agree," Lavrov said in an interview with Russia's Channel One.

Militants remaining in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo after the UN special envoy's plan is enacted should be clearly separated from the Nusra militant group, he added.

Source: MENA