Russia calls for UN Security Council meeting over US-led strikes in Syria

Russia wants an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to discuss air strikes by U.S.-led forces on Assad regime soldiers near Deir al-Zor, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

The UNSC will meet on Saturday at the request of Russia, diplomats said, to discuss the air strikes by the U.S.-led coalition, which Moscow said had targeted and killed Assad regime military personnel.

The 15-member body is due to meet behind closed doors at 7:30 p.m. EDT (2330 GMT), diplomats said.

Maria Zakharova said the strikes, which the Russian Defence Ministry had said killed 62 Syrian soldiers, jeopardized a Russian-U.S. agreement on Syria and looked like evidence that Washington was helping Daesh militants.

"We are reaching a really terrifying conclusion for the whole world: That the White House is defending Islamic State. Now there can be no doubts about that," the RIA Novosti news agency cited Zakharova as telling the Rossiya-24 TV station, using another acronym for Daesh.

"We demand a full and detailed explanation from Washington. That explanation must be given at the U.N. Security Council."

Such a move is unlikely as statements by the council have to be agreed by consensus.

"We have reached the terrifying conclusion that the U.S. is conniving with Daesh," the Russian foreign ministry had said after the Pentagon's confirmation that regime soldiers were hit in the strikes.

Russia is a key ally of Bashar Assad and has been carrying out airstrikes on behalf of his forces since last year.

http://www.dailysabah.com/syrian-crisis/2016/09/18/russia-calls-for-un-security-council-meeting-over-us-led-strikes-in-syria