Russia has criticized the German government for providing material support to the so-called “White Helmets” aid group, which is known for backing militant and terrorist groups against Syria.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned Thursday that the German Foreign Ministry’s material support for the pseudo-humanitarian White Helmets organization could be used to fund terrorists.
Her comments came after the Foreign Ministry announced that it had allocated 5 million euros to the notorious organization.
“It remains unclear – including to the German public – what part of these funds was used to support cooperation between the pseudo-humanitarian groups with terrorists in northeastern Syria,” the Russian spokeswoman said.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to draw a line between support for humanitarian tasks and support for terrorists blatantly glorified by Berlin, Zakharova said. She also said the Foreign Ministry is trying to present the White Helmets to Syrians as a symbol of hope.
“The German Foreign Ministry has apparently completely dropped any concerns and is increasingly acting as the main supporter and sponsor of the White Helmets,” she noted.
In July, Zakharova had said members of the White Helmets continued to cooperate with foreign-sponsored Takfiri terrorists in Syria and were involved in looting and robbery under the guise of humanitarian activities.
“Western sponsors have not yet abandoned their support for the White Helmets and associated entities. We have repeatedly pointed out that the group’s humanitarian label actually lies in looting, extortion, robbery, deliberate misinformation, false flag chemical attacks, aerial and artillery attacks, and simply put, direct collusion with terrorism,” she said at the time.
Russia: White Helmets working with terrorists in Syria under humanitarian cover
Earlier this year, the director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergey Naryshkin, said that Western intelligence agencies sponsor the White Helmets and offer them extensive support in spreading false news to incriminate Syrian government forces and use this as a pretext for possible aggression against Syrian army troops.
“The White Helmets is an organization funded by overseas intelligence agencies. It fulfills its goal as part of a propaganda campaign against the Syrian people and the Syrian Arab Republic as a whole,” the senior Russian official said.
The White Helmets are known for their coordination with terror facilities in Syria to carry out staged chemical attacks aimed at falsely incriminating Syrian government forces and inventing pretexts for possible aggression against army troops by a U.S.-led military coalition that has been in Syria since about 2014.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, members of the so-called Syrian civil defense group White Helmets continue to work with foreign-sponsored Takfiri terrorists operating in Syria, engaging in looting and robbery under the guise of humanitarian activities.
“Western sponsors have not yet abandoned their support for the White Helmets and their associated facilities. We have repeatedly pointed out that the group’s humanitarian label actually lies in looting, extortion, robbery, deliberate misinformation, false flag chemical attacks, aerial and artillery attacks, and simply direct collusion with terrorism,” Sputnik news agency’s Arabic service quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying during a press conference in Moscow on Thursday.
Earlier this year, the director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergey Naryshkin, said that Western intelligence agencies sponsor the White Helmets and provide them with extensive support in spreading false news to incriminate Syrian government forces and use this as a pretext for possible aggression against army troops.
“The White Helmets is an organization funded by intelligence agencies abroad. It fulfills its goal within the framework of a propaganda campaign against the Syrian people and the Syrian Arab Republic as a whole,” the senior Russian official said at the time.
He added that the Russian military proved that the video footage of a suspected chemical attack in April 2018 in the town of Douma, located about 10 kilometers northeast of the capital Damascus, was staged and in fact a false flag operation was carried out. The White Helmets organization is known for its coordination with terrorist organizations in Syria to carry out staged chemical attacks aimed at falsely incriminating Syrian government forces and inventing pretexts for possible aggression by a U.S. military coalition present in Syria since about 2014 against army troops. The group has been involved in such attacks before.
by Xavier Cuesta – European Correspondent – RN