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Russia to use all means to defend itself from terror threats: FM

Xinhua, November 18, 2015 Adjust font size:

The terrorist attack that brought down the A321 passenger plane is equal to an aggression against Russia, and the country will defend itself with all available means, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday.

"The act of terrorism was precisely an attack on Russian citizens, which is tantamount to an attack on the Russian state. The right to self-defense will be implemented by all available means, both political and military, as well as using security and intelligence services," Lavrov told reporters.

Russia promised Tuesday to take prompt measures to find and punish all involved in the Oct. 31 Russian plane crash over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, which killed all 224 people onboard.

The Islamic State (IS) extremist group has claimed responsibility for the crash as a revenge for Russia's airstrikes against IS targets in Syria.

Russian air force ratcheted up strikes in Syria from Tuesday following an order by President Vladimir Putin and used for the first time strategic bombers in its operations.

Lavrov said the Russian Foreign Ministry has appealed to the international community to provide assistance in obtaining information to find those responsible for the air crash, and has received positive response from almost all the world capitals.

He added that Russia had received from the United States and some other countries lists of Syrian groups they considered as terrorists.

"Our lists largely overlap," said Lavrov. "I hope that our American colleagues will be able to come to an agreement in the process in order to make a list and to present it to the UN Security Council."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that both Moscow and Washington understood the necessity of fighting terrorism in spite of some "tactical differences."

Earlier in the day, Putin signed a decree setting up an interdepartmental committee for the prevention of financing terrorism, according to an online statement on the Kremlin website. Endi