US AIRSTRIKES "VIOLATION OF THE SOVEREIGNTY" OF SYRIA, RUSSIAN PM SAYS
23-9-2014 7.58PM
Medhaj News: Russia criticized the US-led airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) positions in Syria on Tuesday, saying they should have been agreed with Damascus and would fuel tension in the region.
The United States, which has long called for the dismissal of the democratically-elected Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and several Gulf Arab dictatorships carried out the first air and missile strikes on ISIS strongholds in Syria, without the consent of the Syrian government.
"Any such action can be carried out only in accordance with international law," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"That implies not a formal, one-sided 'notification' of airstrikes but the presence of explicit consent from the government of Syria or the approval of a corresponding UN Security Council decision."
"Attempts to achieve one's own geopolitical goals in violation of the sovereignty of countries in the region only exacerbate tensions and further destabilize the situation," the ministry said.
The Western-backed Syrian opposition, which is fighting both Assad and ISIS, welcomed the airstrikes.