Russia’s Use of Iranian Airbase No Breach of UN Resolution 2231: Lavrov
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that Russia's use of an air base in northwestern Iran for bombing terrorists’ positions in Syria does not violate UN Security Council resolution 2231.
"There is no reason to suspect Russia of violating 2231 UNSC resolution," Lavrov said Wednesday as cited by Sputnik.
No aircraft or supplies had been transferred to Tehran, he stressed.
Resolution 2231 prohibits the supply, sale and transfer of combat aircraft to Iran.
"According to this resolution, supplies, sale and transfer of certain types on weapons, including combat aircraft, should be agreed with the UNSC. In the case we are discussing, there were no supply, sale or transfer of combat jets to Iran. These jets are used by the Russian Aerospace Forces to conduct an anti-terrorist operation in the Syrian Arab Republic at the request of the legitimate Syrian leadership,” the Russian minister added.
In similar remarks on Wednesday, Konstantin Kosachev, a senior member of Russia's upper house of parliament, said Russia's decision to fly Syria bombing missions out of Iran “obviously” does not contravene the resolution.
The remarks came after the spokesman of the US State Department said on Tuesday that it was studying whether or not Moscow has violated the resolution by deploying jets to the Iranian airbase.
On Tuesday, Russian long-range Tu-22M3 bombers carried out the first airstrikes against terrorist targets in Syria operating from Hamadan airfield in northwestern Iran. The strikes eliminated five major terrorist weapons depots and training compounds as well as three command posts and a significant number of terrorists in Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor and Idlib provinces.
The bombers were covered by Su-30sm and Su-35s jet fighters operating from Russia’s Khmeimim airbase in Syria. The number of military aircraft deployed at Hamadan airbase was not disclosed.
Iran and Russia have been assisting Syria in its fight against terrorist groups upon official requests by the Damascus government.
The two countries have been looking for a solution to a crisis that has plagued the Arab country for more than five years.
Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with Takfiri terrorists, including the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group, currently controlling parts of it, mostly in the east.
The Syrian conflict has killed at least 260,000 people, according to the UN, and more than half of Syria’s pre-war population of 22.4 million has been internally displaced or fled abroad.
