RESENDING WITH FULL SCRIPT. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov tells Russia's parliament that the U.S. refused to send a military delegation to Moscow or receive one to Washington to discuss deeper coordination in fighting Islamic State militants in Syria. SHOWS: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (OCTOBER 14, 2015) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. TRAFFIC OUTSIDE RUSSIAN STATE DUMA (PARLIAMENT) BUILDING 2. FLAG FLYING ABOVE SCULPTURE OF HAMMER AND SICKLE ON BUILDING FACADE 3. MAN WALKING PAST FLAGS IN LOBBY OF DUMA 4. COAT OF ARMS AND FLAGS 5. DUMA DEPUTIES IN HALL 6. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, SERGEI LAVROV, SAYING: "Many participants of the U.N. General Assembly made the point that the most serious threat to whole international community is presented by international terrorism and extremism; their outburst happened in the Middle East and North Africa because of the weakening of state institutions in various countries of the region, among other things, because of the external interference." 7. DEPUTIES SAT IN HALL 8. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, SERGEI LAVROV, SAYING: "Just today we received the official reply. Apparently our president's public reminder yesterday prompted the Americans to respond at last to our proposals. They replied that they would not be able to send a delegation to Moscow and or receive a delegation to Washington because our American colleagues are only interested in agreeing steps that would help avoid incidents." 9. DEPUTIES SAT AT DESKS 10. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, SERGEI LAVROV, SAYING: "As for the fight against Islamic State, I hear about what our Iraqi partners say, what they say in Afghanistan where they are also concerned that Islamic State is putting down their roots there. We haven't had any official requests. If there are any, it will be the commander-in-chief (Russian President Vladimir Putin) who will decide." 11. DEPUTIES SPEAKING IN HALL STORY: Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday (October 14) that the U.S. has refused to send a delegation to Moscow or to receive a Russian delegation in Washington to more closely coordinate air strikes by both countries and their allies in Syria. Lavrov made the comments while addressing the lower house of the Russian parliament, saying that terrorism had been identified by many as the international community's most serious threat. "Many participants of the U.N. General Assembly made the point that the most serious threat to whole international community is presented by international terrorism and extremism; their outburst happened in the Middle East and North Africa because of the weakening of state institutions in various countries of the region, among other things, because of the external interference," Lavrov said. Moscow's intervention means Russian and U.S. jets are flying combat missions over the same country for the first time since World War Two, raising fears of possible accidental confrontation. "Just today we received the official reply. Apparently our president's public reminder yesterday prompted the Americans to respond at last to our proposals. They replied that they would not be able to send a delegation to Moscow and or receive a delegation to Washington because our American colleagues are only interested in agreeing steps that would help avoid incidents," Lavrov said. Despite media reports in recent weeks about the possibility of Russian strikes in Iraq or other countries where an Islamic State presence has been reported, Lavrov said the only official request had so far come from President Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria. "As for the fight against Islamic State, I hear about what our Iraqi partners say, what they say in Afghanistan where they are also concerned that Islamic State is putting down their roots there. We haven't had any official requests. If there are any, it will be the commander-in-chief (Russian President Vladimir Putin) who will decide." Supported by two weeks of Russian air strikes, the Syrian army and its allies Iran and Hezbollah have been fighting insurgents in Syria's northern Hama province and the neighbouring Idlib and Latakia provinces, trying to reverse rebel gains over the summer which had threatened the coastal heartlands of Assad's Alawite minority.

• published: 15 Oct 2015
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