Russian MP says Syria should appeal to UN in case of Saudi’s land operation

A land operation requires consent of the Syrian government to have other armed forces be deployed in Syria’s territory, Viktor Ozerov says.

Damascus will have to appeal to the United Nations in case Saudi Arabia stages a land operation in Syria, a Russian lawmaker said on Friday."It should be an appeal to the United Nations," Viktor Ozerov, the chairman of the defense and security committee at Russia’s Federation Council upper parliament house, told TASS when asked about consequences of such operation. He said that as far as he knew, Saudi and Turkish warplanes were already taking part in combat operations in Syria.

A land operation requires "consent of the Syrian government to have other armed forces be deployed in its [Syria’s] territory," he said. "On the other hand, Russia has always called to form a board anti-terrorist coalition and this call is still on the agenda. We are ready for cooperation with other countries."

"But if this anti-terrorist coalition sets a political goal — impossibility of Bashar Assad’s staying on his post, then how it can conduct an anti-terrorist operation on a territory of a state where its leader is not recognized," Ozerov noted. "This contradiction gives grounds for doubts, at least I think so, in the sincerity of the operation Saudi Arabia is speaking about."