France shrugs off Russian objections over air strikes on ISIS oil facilities
France denied the accusations of Russia, which blamed Paris claiming that the French Air Forces bombed the oil infrastructure of Islamic State on Syria’s territory. French authorities called the aerial attacks relevant and necessary retaliatory strikes on ISIS militants’ positions – reported Reuters. Paris intends to cut off the extremists’ main source of income.
Russia explained its criticism by saying that the West has no right to attack ISIS without official permission of Damascus. At the same time the USA, EU and their Arabic partners don’t recognize the Syrian Government.
The French Foreign Ministry spokesman, Romain Nadal, stated in his interview to the reporters, that French bombardments of oil facilities, controlled by Daesh (i.e Islamic State) are part of the legal self-defence. “They are necessary and proportional response to the attacks carried out by Daesh” – he said. Also, the differences between parties have been agreed to be settled on the eve of the meeting which the President of France, François Hollande and the Russian President, Vladimir Putin are expected to hold on November 26 in Moscow, in order to discuss the formation of the broad anti-ISIS Coalition.
The corresponding decision was taken by the Head of Elysee Palace after the largest series of terrorist acts in the history of the country that claimed the lives of 130 people.
On November 20, Russian daily Kommersant published an interview with the director of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ilya Rogachev, in which he stated that Russia can’t approve the actions of the bombardment of ISIS oil facilities from the French side as it is committed without the agreement of the Syrian authorities.
“I suspect that French partners come from a possibility of an inevitable successful attack of the Syrian army on the ISIS strongholds and the fact that ISIS oil producing facilities can come under the control of the Syrian government. As Assad and ISIS are their enemies of equal priority, by such airstrikes they damage both of them” – said the official.
Paris together with its coalition allies, the USA, and Arabic countries, insist on the necessity of Bashar Assad’s resignation accusing him of unleashing the 5-year long war which claimed the lives of more than 250 thousand people.
The West and its allies in the Middle East has criticized Moscow for its operation in the Syrian sky as it targeted Assad’s opposition despite the Kremlin’s official statements that its main target is the Islamic State. Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, stated that the West has to desist from requirig the resignation of Assad if it wants to establish the broad international Coalition (together with the Russian Federation) against the Islamic State.