Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday it was inadmissible to allow what he called a "terrorist group" to take control of Syrian lands.

 

He was speaking in the Qatari capital Doha after meeting the Turkish and Iranian foreign ministers following a rapid advance by Syrian opposition led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militant group that threatens President Bashar al-Assad's rule.

 

"It's inadmissible to allow the terrorist group to take control of the lands in violation of agreements," said Lavrov during a political forum in Doha.

 

Russia, a long-term ally of Syria, intervened in 2015 to prop up Damascus during Syria's civil war, which began in 2011.

 

Russia maintains a military presence in Syria, including a naval base and airbases in the cities of Tartus and Latakia, in the coastal region that is a stronghold of Assad's Alawite sect.

 

"...we help the Syrian army to counter the attacks of terrorists," Lavrov said, Reuters reported.

 

Lavrov, whose country is waging war in Ukraine, was asked whether he believed Assad could hold on, and about the future of the Russian bases in Syria. He said he was "not in the business of guessing".

 

Lavrov said that at the meeting in Qatar with Türkiye and Iran, the three countries agreed the fighting in Syria must end, reiterating support for Damascus' "territorial integrity, sovereignty and unity".

 

He said that talks with Türkiye, which backs some anti-Assad opposition groups, had included discussion of methods of keeping Syria united while ensuring the security of the Turkish border.

 

"We called for an immediate end to hostile activities ... and for this purpose called for the dialogue between the government and legitimate opposition," he said.

 

Lavrov did not specify which opposition forces Russia regarded as legitimate but made clear it considered HTS a "terrorist" group.

 

Russian news agency RIA quoted Lavrov as telling reporters that Moscow would oppose "in every possible way" what he said were efforts by HTS to change the dynamics on the ground in Syria.