Russian envoy: US military presence in Syria violates international laws

A senior Russian diplomat has denounced the United States for maintaining troops in Syria, saying it violates international laws because the US military presence has no UN Security Council mandate or official approval from the Syrian government.

“Washington’s policies neither do help the restoration of stability nor improve the status quo in Syria. They do not cement the Syrian government’s sovereignty, and instead adversely affect the situation in the entire Middle East,” Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s Ambassador to the United States, said on Friday, the Sputnik news agency reported. 

 “The US military presence on Syrian soil violates international laws, as the forces occupy certain areas in the country under the pretext of carrying out anti-terrorist missions,” he said.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Antonov roundly dismissed the accusations leveled by the US Department of Defense against Russia concerning alleged “unprofessional behavior in Syrian airspace,” stressing it is the US that infringes upon the rules of aviation there.

The Russian ambassador noted that such comments go beyond the limits of decency and lack any rationality, and are meant to deviate the world public opinion from the fact that Americans themselves violate air safety rules in the Syrian airspace on a daily basis.

MG