General killed in Syria because of US policy, Russian deputy foreign minister

Valeri Assapov was killed when a shell exploded during shelling by IS fighters near Syrian city of Deir Ezzor

MOSCOW: Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that "two-faced policy" of the United States was to blame for the death of Russian general Valery Asapov in Syria, RIA news agency quoted him as saying on Monday.

"The death of the Russian commander is the price, the bloody price for the two-faced American policy in Syria," Ryabkov told reporters, according to RIA.



The Russian general was killed while battling Islamic State group militants near the eastern Syrian city of Deir Ezzor.

"Division general Valeri Assapov was killed when a shell exploded during shelling by IS fighters," a defence ministry official was quoted as saying by local media, adding that the officer was serving as an advisor to Syrian government troops.

The ministry said Assapov would be posthumously decorated for his service.

Deir Ezzor province, on Syria's eastern border with Iraq, is rich with oil and gas fields that served as a key revenue stream for IS at the peak of its power.

Russia intervened in support of the Damascus government in September 2015 and has been assisting regime forces in an assault on Deir Ezzor from the west.