Russia opposes establishing no-fly zone over Syria

MOSCOW - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Saturday that Russia opposes the idea of setting up a no-fly zone over Syria, which, it believes, would be a violation of Syria's sovereignty.

The setup of a no-fly zone over Syria would violate the UN Charter, Lavrov said in an interview with Sky News Arabia.

"If these zones are going to cover the territory of the Syrian state, this will constitute a violation of its sovereignty and of the UN Charter," Lavrov said, adding that it was not the first time he heard about the idea of security zones and no-fly zones.

Moscow believes the imposition of the no-fly zone "on the pretext of preventing humanitarian crisis" in Syria is unacceptable, said the senior diplomat.