MOSCOW, September 4 (Itar-Tass) - Only the U.N. Security Council can sanction a military operation in Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with Russia’s TV Channel One and the U.S. news agency Associated Press.

“According to the effective international law only the U.N. Security Council can authorize use of weapons against a sovereign country,” the Russian president said. Putin named impermissible any other arguments, “which would justify the use of force against an independent and sovereign country.” “They can be interpreted only as an act of aggression,” the president said.