Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that any pretexts to justify the use of force against a sovereign state are unacceptable and can only be classified as aggression.
In an interview with the Russian Channel One and the Associated Press on Tuesday, Putin said that the U.N. Security Council is the only body authorized to allow the use of force against a sovereign country.
On the allegations of chemical weapons use in Syria, Putin said: "We have no data indicating that it was the Syrian army which used chemical materials and it is not even known if that was a chemical weapon or just harmful chemical substances."
Putin stressed that Russia is not defending the Syrian government but rather the international systems and laws when discussing the possibility of using force.
On Russian weapons supplies to Syria, Putin said "We are continuing the implementation of our contracts with Syria… as we are dealing with a legitimate government and we are not violating the rules of the international law."
Asked whether there are S-300 anti-air defense systems in Syria, Putin said that some of the S-300 components were delivered to Syria, adding that the contract has not been completely implemented yet.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
......
