MOSCOW, October 29. /TASS/. The unilateral delivery of air strikes on the Islamic State terrorist group does not correspond to the principles of fighting terrorism on the UN basis, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday.
“Russia calls for consolidating international efforts to counter common threats. We provide consistent support, including by supplying arms and military equipment, for the governments of Iraq, Syria, Jordan and other countries of the region,” Lavrov said at a solemn reception on the occasion of Islamic New Year.
“We’re convinced that the fight against terrorism should rely on the firm base of international law under the UN Security Council control,” he said.
“We believe that it is necessary to fight terrorism and extremism on the UN basis,” he added.
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov earlier told the media that the present situation runs counter to international law. Any actions that the coalition is taking towards the Islamic State (in the territory of Syria) are in essence considered illegal because without the legitimate government’s consent this can be only described as the violation of sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Gatilov said.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said earlier that the Syrian air force makes over 159 air strikes a day while the coalition's opportunities are limited to 10-15 or even 5-7 strikes a day. That is why, the spokesman says, the fact that Washington is determined in its refusal to recognize Bashar Assad’s government as an ally in the fight against terrorism is surprising. These statements came after the IS militants seized caches of weapons airdropped by the US air force for Kurdish units.