Iran Press/ Europe: Moscow expresses 'deep concern' regarding the Friday attack, says explanations provided by the Israeli officials so far did not satisfy Kremlin and that it would not allow Syria to become a 'battlefield' for other states.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov had expressed to Ben-Zvi Moscow's deep concern regarding the attack, which the Russians said had damaged the airport's runway, navigation systems, and buildings, and caused damage to international air traffic.
The ministry also stated that the attack had disrupted the inflow of humanitarian aid from the United Nations to millions of Syrians in the country ravaged by over a decade of civil war.
Before Ben-Zvi's summoning, Moscow issued a strong condemnation of the attack that Syria has attributed to Israel.
In a statement published last Friday by Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova, Moscow called on Israel to “stop this vicious practice” of targeting civilian infrastructure.
"We are compelled to reiterate that the ongoing Israeli shelling of the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, in violation of the basic norms of international law, is absolutely unacceptable. We strongly condemn Israel's provocative attack on the most important object of the Syrian civilian infrastructure," the statement read.
"Such irresponsible actions create serious risks for international air traffic and put the lives of innocent people in real danger. We demand the Israeli side to stop this vicious practice."
Satellite images published last week by Israeli intelligence and imagery firm ImageSat International (ISI) shed light on the extent of the damage, with three craters visible on each of the airport's two runways.
According to a report by the firm, one runway serves the civilian section of the airport, while the other serves its military section.
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