Russia questions legitimacy of strikes in Iraq

ISTANBUL

CİHAN photo

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has questioned the legitimacy of the Turkish Air Force’s operations in Iraq, primarily against outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants, in an interview with Al-Ahram on Aug. 6. 

Russia understands the U.S.-led coalition’s operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Iraq are being undertaken with the approval and at the request of the Iraqi government, the Russian prime minister said. 

“However, this coalition was created bypassing the U.N. Security Council and extended its activities to Syria without the consent of its government,” he said. 

“This arouses serious doubts about the legitimacy of such action. By the way, the recent Turkish air strikes on Iraq cannot but lead to similar issues,” he added.