Special to WorldTribune.com

“Irresponsible U.S. politics” in the Middle East helped lead to the rise of Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said.

Medvedev said the Obama administration was so focused on ousting Syrian President Bashar Assad that it neglected the war on terrorism and opened the door for ISIL to seize large areas of Iraq and Syria, according to a report by Interfax.

The Russian prime minister made the comments on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. U.S. President Barack Obama declined to comment on Medvedev’s statement.

Defeating terrorism can only be successful if all actions are coordinated and sponsored by international institutions like the UN, Medvedev said.

Obama on Nov. 22 had said that Russia is facing a strategic choice as Assad can’t remain in power.

“Russia has not officially committed to a transition of Assad moving out but they did agree to a political transition process,” Obama said. “And I think we’ll find out over the next several weeks whether or not we can bring about that change in perspective with the Russians.”

Meanwhile, the United Nations on Nov. 20 unanimously endorsed a resolution calling for countries to take “all necessary measures” to combat ISIL in Syria and Iraq.

  Barack Obama, Dmitry Medvedev, Russian report: U.S. policies strengthened ISIL, WorldTribune.com