MOSCOW: Russia has warned that airstrikes by the United States against Islamic State militants in Syria would be an act of aggression if these lack the backing of the United Nations.
“The US president has spoken directly about the possibility of strikes by the US armed forces against ISIL positions in Syria without the consent of the legitimate government,” the Russia’s foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich was quoted as saying on Thursday by media.
“This step, in the absence of a UN Security Council decision, would be an act of aggression, a gross violation of international law,” Lukashevich said.
On Wednesday night, the US President Barack Obama authorized US airstrikes inside Syria for the first time, along with expanded strikes in Iraq to root out Islamic State militants and their spreading reign of terror.
In his address on the eve of the anniversary of September 11, 2001 attacks, the US president also announced dispatching nearly 500 more US troops to advise and assist the Iraqi security forces as well as conduct intelligence and reconnaissance flights.
