Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday accused the United States of blackmailing Russia to support a tough UN resolution against Syria, and said the West is blinded by the idea of regime change in the war-torn country.
"Our American partners are beginning to blackmail us: if Russia won't support a resolution under Chapter 7 in the UN Security Council, then we will stop the work in the Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons," Lavrov said in a Channel One interview, according to Russian agencies.
"Our partners are now blinded by their ideological goal of regime change [in Syria]," Lavrov added. "All they talk about is that Bashar al-Assad must leave," while Russia's goal is to "solve the problem of chemical weapons in Syria."
