Lavrov: Photos showing Russian involvement in airstrike on school in Syria were 'fabricated'
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denied that Russia was behind the airstrikes that killed 22 school children in Syria’s Idlib province on Thursday, Izvestia reported.
At a press conference following a meeting with his Syrian and Iranian counterparts, Walid Muallem and Mohammad Javad Zarif, Lavrov said that photographs that had been circulating on social media allegedly showing that Russian aircraft were responsible for the airstrikes were “fabricated”.
“Now, the episode has been spun…. Insinuations directed against Russia, against Syria,” Lavrov stated.
"In response to these allegations, the Russian Defense Ministry has published information so that you can become familiar with the facts that refute these claims and show that this information was fabricated,” the Russian Foreign Minister added.
The airstrikes killed 22 school children and six teachers in the village of Hass, according to UNICEF.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) and several other monitoring groups have accused Russia of being behind the strike.
Idlib province is controlled by the Army of Conquest, an alliance of rebel groups, including some that had previously been affiliated with Al-Nusra Front.