News

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov didn’t accuse the U.S. of arming Syrian rebels, as an Iranian translation of remarks he made at a media briefing had indicated, according to an audio recording of the event.

“We aren’t shipping to Syria or anywhere else things that can be used against peaceful demonstrators,” Lavrov said, according to a recording of his remarks in Russian provided by the Foreign Ministry. “Unlike the United States, for example, which regularly delivers such special equipment to the region, including a recent delivery to one of the countries of the Persian Gulf.”

The translation of his remarks by Iran’s state-run Mehr news agency had Lavrov saying: “Unlike the U.S., which supplies arms to the Syrian opposition that can be used against the Syrian government, we don’t take such action.”