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Russia gives Lebanon satellite images taken on day of Beirut port bombing — Lavrov

Last week, Roscosmos CEO announced that the space company prepared space photos of the port of Beirut despite having not received an official request

MOSCOW, November 22. /TASS/. Russia handed over satellite images, made on the day of the Beirut port explosion, to Lebanon, and hopes that this will aid the investigation of the incident, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in the wake of talks with his Lebanese counterpart Abdullah Bou Habib Monday.

"We discussed perspectives of the possible participation of Russian economic actors in restoring the infrastructure destroyed during the August 4, 2020, explosion in the port of Beirut. At the request of the Lebanese government, we handed over the space imagery and satellite photos prepared by Roscosmos," he said.

"We hope that they will aid in the investigation of this incident. This matter is attracting very serious attention in Lebanon right now," the Minister said, expressing his hope that the truth will be established of the matter.

Earlier, Bou Habib said he planned to discuss the handover of satellite images, made at the time of the explosion, during his visit to Moscow on November 20-23.

Last week, Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Rogozin announced that the space company prepared space photos of the port of Beirut despite having not received an official request.

On August 4, 2020, a 1.5-kiloton of TNT explosion occurred in the port of Beirut, destroying thousands of buildings inside and outside the city. A total of 219 people died and 6,500 people were injured in the explosion, while over 300,000 people were left without shelter. According to the Lebanese police, the explosion happened after welding operations ignited over 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored at the port warehouse.

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