Countering weapons supplies to terrorists in Syria

The Syrian conflict has emphasized the importance of international efforts to counter weapons supplies to terrorists, Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department for New Challenges and Threats Ilya Rogachev said at a conference dubbed Countering Illegal Weapons Supplies as Part of the Fight Against International Terrorism. "Countering weapons supplies to terrorists must be one of the tasks topping the counterterrorism agenda," he said. "In Russia’s view, the top priority is to combat the spread of terrorist ideas and the funding of terrorism in a broad sense, which means any material support, including weapons supplies," Rogachev added. The senior Russian diplomat pointed out that the Syrian conflict had also highlighted the importance of that task. "Terrorists have not once ran out of munitions during military activities," he said, adding that "it means that someone provided them with weapons." Rogachev noted that weapons supply patterns usually involved several countries. "International cooperation is the key to resolving this issue," he noted. The conference kicked off in Moscow on Monday. A plenary meeting took place on the first day, while on Tuesday, the event’s participants are discussing various aspects of weapons supplies to terrorists. The conference has been timed to coincide with the Day of Solidarity in the Fight Against Terrorism, marked in Russia on September 3.