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Conflict in Syria

Moscow's envoy to UN reaffirms Russian forces in Syria strike only terrorist targets

The ambassador asked the UN and its bodies to double-check informaiton before releasing it

Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya Valery Sharifulin / TASS

Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya

© Valery Sharifulin / TASS

UN, June 26. /TASS/. The Russian forces in Syria strike only terrorist facilities identified as such by intelligence data, Russia’s UN envoy, Vasily Nebenzya, said during a UN Security Council session to discuss the situation in the Middle East.

The Syrian government troops and the Aerospace Forces of Russia "conduct strikes that target only terrorist facilities, confirmed as such by intelligence data," he said.

"In this respect, we once again call upon the UN Secretariat and the organization’s related agencies, including the World Health Organization, not to rush to publish unverified information. Data should come from credible and non-politicized sources and must be double-checked, including on whether the infrastructure that was allegedly attacked, had undergone the deconflicting procedure," he said. "Regrettably, so far we have serious doubts regarding the reliability of those sources and methods of their verification."

"Russia’s stance remains unchanged," he continued. "We will keep doing our best to bring peace to Syria in all formats - as a sovereign nation, as a permanent member of the UN security council and as a participant of the Astana trio, which has done more than any other format to achieve de-escalation and eliminate the terrorist threat, to deliver more aid and promote the political process."

During the UN Security Council session on Tuesday, the head of the Russian center for reconciliation of the opposing sides in Syria, Maj. Gen. Alexei Bakin addressed the Security Council via a video linkup to strongly reject the claims that the Syrian government forces have carried out indiscriminate strikes on the Idlib de-escalation zone.

He also said that thousands of refugees return to Syria daily from Jordan and Lebanon.

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