Western Refusal to Cooperate With Russia Won't Help Fight Terrorism – Lavrov

ST. PETERSBURG, May 23 (RIA Novosti) - The refusal of Western countries to collaborate with Russia will stand in the way of effectively battling terrorism, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday.

'In the situation where all the crisis regulation paths exclusively require joint efforts, it is hard to understand the logics of those who make decisions to limit cooperation with Russia when reacting to common challenges and threats,' Lavrov said at the Moscow International Security Conference.

'We can certainly [move along] the path of cutting collaboration, but it is unlikely to increase the effectiveness of the fight against terrorism and spread of weapons of mass destruction, the overcoming of the consequences of natural and man-made disasters and the creation of barriers to extremism,' he said.

The third International Security Conference is taking place in Moscow on Friday and Saturday, focusing on the resolution of conflicts in Afghanistan, the Middle East and North Africa, as well as Ukraine. The participants include defense ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member countries, as well as representatives of Syria, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and other countries.

The European Union, US and NATO representatives, critical of Russia's actions in Ukraine, refused to participate.