Russia's steps to combat terrorism will obey international law - Peskov
MOSCOW. Nov 17 (Interfax) - Russia intends to abide by the principles and norms of international law in all issues concerning the possibility of conducting operations in other countries as part of the fight against terrorism, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"Russia has been taking all of its measures as part of the fight against terrorism in strict compliance with the standards and principles of international law. It is in this context that Article 51 [of the UN Charter] was mentioned. We will follow this principle in the future," he said.
Peskov said this after being asked whether or not Russia, by pursuing its right to self-defense, could carry out special operations in other countries without these countries' requests.
Peskov also answered the question of whether Russia could spread its Syria-based operation to counter the terrorist threat to other countries.
"I would like to repeat once again that in its actions, Russia is governed by the principles and norms of international law. An operation can be conducted on the territory of another state either in accordance with a [UN] Security Council resolution or on the basis of a request from this country's legitimate authorities," the Kremlin spokesman said.
Russia's activities in Syria are absolutely legitimate from the point of view of international law and Russia "intends to abide by international law in the future," he added.