Russia Will Not Allow No-fly zone over Syria

Russia will not allow the creation of a no-fly zone over Syria, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich has said. It follows reports of the US making preparations for an air exclusion zone. Meanwhile, the International Red Cross said it had found no hard evidence of the use of “chemicals” in Syria, according to the Voice of Russia.

“We will not allow this scenario. Such manoeuvres and arguments are a direct consequence of disrespect for international law,” Lukashevich said.

“We saw with the example of Libya how such a zone is introduced and how such decisions are implemented. We do not want a repeat of this in respect to the crisis in Syria. I think that we will not permit in principle such a scenario,” he said.

The US may reportedly be preparing to impose a no-fly zone over Syria amid support for the move expressed by Jordan’s king Abudullah II and major US weapons deployed in Jordan.

The US Pentagon announced that it will leave behind a squadron of F-16 fighters and a battery of Patriot missiles at the end of joint US-Jordan military drills this week. The decision prompted “speculation that a no-fly zone [over Syria] is being prepared,” according to The Washington Post.

The development comes just days after US officials announced plans to extend direct military aid to foreign-backed insurgents in Syria.

Meanwhile, in Moscow, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) would not confirm reports about the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria.

Robert Mardini, ICRC’s Head of Operations for the Near and Middle East, spoke to Russian journalists at a Moscow conference, organised by the Red Cross and the Russian Academy of Sciences.

M.D