Russia: Moscow provides Lebanon with satellite images from day of Beirut port explosion - Lavrov

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Russia’s space agency Roscosmos has handed over satellite images taken before and after the Beirut port blast to Lebanon, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced during a press conference with his Lebanese counterpart Abdullah Bou Habib in Moscow on Monday.

“At the request of the Lebanese government, we have today handed over satellite images prepared by Roscosmos. We hope they will help investigate the causes of the incident,” he said.

During the press conference, the minister also commented on Beirut’s relations with other countries, saying Lebanon should not be “a field for settling scores between other states”.

“No one should consider Lebanon as a target of external interference. Such attempts are being made, in many different directions… And, of course, we are against the country being held hostage to the crisis in neighbouring Syria,” Lavrov said.

Lebanon’s Habib in his turn thanked Russia for providing the satellite images and said the current crisis in the country was solvable.

“Lebanon has always maintained cordial relations with the Gulf countries. [...] We are ready for dialogue, we are seeking it and we believe that the Minister [of Information George] Kardahi issue is quite exaggerated and can certainly be resolved through simple negotiations with the Gulf countries. We are counting on that,” Habib said.

The Beirut port explosion of August 4, 2020, resulted in the deaths of around 200 people, injuring more than 6,000 and leaving an estimated 300,000 people homeless. The blasts are thought to have been caused by the still unexplained ignition of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive chemical material that was reportedly stored without precautionary measures at the port.

SOUNDBITES:

SOT, Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister (Russian): “We are convinced that no one should consider Lebanon as a target of external interference. Such attempts are being made, in many different directions, and we are convinced they are detrimental both to the Lebanese state and to the regional situation. Lebanon should not be a field for settling scores between other states, a trend we, unfortunately, see as well. And, of course, we are against the country being held hostage to the crisis in neighbouring Syria.”

SOT, Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister (Russian): “We considered the prospects for the possible participation of Russian economic operators in the reconstruction of infrastructure that was destroyed by the August 4, 2020 explosion in the port of Beirut. At the request of the Lebanese government, we have today handed over satellite images prepared by Roscosmos. We hope they will help investigate the causes of the incident. This issue is now receiving very serious attention in Lebanon. And we expect closure on this matter and the truth can be established.”

SOT, Abdallah Bou Habib, Lebanese Foreign Minister (Arabic): “It is worth saying that Lebanon has always maintained cordial relations with the Gulf countries. Even now we still have relations with Oman, Qatar, and the Ambassador continues his work in the United Arab Emirates. Of course, the current crisis situation is solvable. We are ready for dialogue, we are seeking it and we believe that the Minister [of Information George] Kardahi issue is quite exaggerated and can certainly be resolved through simple negotiations with the Gulf countries. We are counting on that.”

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