President Michel Aoun speaks with Russian Ambassador Alexander Rodakov on Friday. (Credit: @LBpresidency)
BEIRUT — President Michel Aoun officially asked Russia on Friday to provide Lebanon with satellite images of the Beirut port to supplement the investigation into the Aug. 4, 2020, explosion there. The president made the request during a meeting with Russian ambassador Alexander Rodakov on Friday morning.
Here’s what we know:
• Russian President Vladimir Putin last month stated his willingness to provide the satellite images but noted that he “didn’t see how they could help.” In a previous statement, Putin had blamed the blast on the improper storage of ammonium nitrate at the port by officials who intended to sell it.
• Aoun had previously requested and obtained satellite photos of the blast from France.
• The port blast was caused by the detonation of at least hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate. While the cause of detonation remains unknown, Aoun has vocalized the possibility of a missile or a bomb having instigated it.
• The blast left more than 218 people dead and more than 6,500 wounded. The port blast investigation has been repeatedly impeded and is on hold after former ministers Ghazi Zeaiter and Ali Hassan Khalil filed complaints against the lead investigator Judge Tarek Bitar.