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2nd LD Writethru: Russian parliament approves airstrike involvement in Syria

Xinhua, September 30, 2015 Adjust font size:

Russia's Federation Council, the upper house of parliament, has granted President Vladimir Putin approval to send armed forces to Syria, Russian Presidential Administration Chief Sergei Ivanov said Wednesday.

"The Federation Council has unanimously supported the president's request," Tass news agency quoted Ivanov as saying.

Ivanov said only air forces would be used by Russia in Syria to fight against Islamic State (IS) militants at Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's request.

"The Syrian president has turned to the Russian leadership and requested military assistance... The operation's goal is only to provide air support to Syrian armed forces in the fight against IS," Ivanov said.

Earlier in the day, Putin formally requested permission from the upper house to send a "contingent of Russian Armed Forces" outside Russian territories "in line with universally recognized principles and international laws," according to an online statement released by the Kremlin.

Ivanov said that the operation would be limited in time while refusing to specify the types of weapons that would be used.

Moreover, all of Russia's partners and allies would be informed about the decision as well as operation details if necessary, Ivanov said.

Under the Russian Constitution, the Federation Council is responsible for deciding whether to use Russian Armed Forces outside the country.

Ivanov repeated the Russian criticism of U.S.-led coalition air strikes on IS positions in Syria and Iraq.

"These actions are being carried out in circumvention of international law," Ivanov said when defending Russia's decision, which he said was made in compliance with international laws and to protect national interests.

It is advisable for Russia to take preventive measures against the possible emergence of terrorist problems in the country, considering the growing number of citizens from Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States joining IS, he said.

"There are thousands of Russians doing so... Some of them have already returned to Russia and it is easy to suggest that more would come back to our territory," Ivanov said.

The Syrian crisis became the key issue of Monday's meeting between Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

In spite of their differences, the two parties agreed to continue cooperation on this issue, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after the two leaders had met.

The Pentagon announced on Tuesday the U.S. military was to "open lines of communication with Russia" to de-escalate the air operations conflict in Syria. Endi