People protest against U.S. strike on Syria outside the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on April 14, 2018. (Xinhua/Yang Chenglin)
MOSCOW, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic State (IS) terrorists in Syria only exist in areas controlled by the United States, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Saturday.
"The further expansion of the IS in Syria became possible due to the criminal inaction of the United States and the so-called international coalition," Konashenkov told reporters.
The IS militants quickly gained control of the main oil-bearing areas in the east of Syria and secured a constant inflow of financial resources from the illegal sale of oil products, he said.
While Washington financed and supplied arms and ammunition to "fictional" Syrian opposition, large chunks of it ended up in the hands of the Nusra Front, an offspring of al-Qaida, and the IS, whose goals coincided with Washington's policy to overthrow the legitimate Syrian government, he said.
Konashenkov said that in the Syrian provinces under the control of the Syrian government, peaceful life is actively recovering, mines being cleared, enterprises resuming work, while markets, schools and kindergartens are open.
The Syrian people were receiving humanitarian aid and food, nothing of which was financed by the United States, he said.
The real catastrophe for the Syrian people has been recorded by the United Nations and human rights activists in the U.S.-controlled areas in the country, Konashenkov said.