Russia is closely monitoring developments related to reports of potential US military action in Nigeria, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday.
Responding to an Anadolu news agency question at a press briefing in Moscow about the situation in the African country, Zakharova urged Washington to adhere to international law.
“We are closely monitoring this issue and call on all parties involved to strictly comply with international legal norms,” she said.
On November 1, US President Donald Trump declared that he had ordered the Pentagon to develop options for possible military measures against terrorist groups in Nigeria to protect Christian communities there.
‘Constitutional commitment’
The Nigerian government has said it does not tolerate religious persecution.
Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar said this week that the government has a “constitutional commitment to religious freedom and rule of law”.
Africa’s most populous country, which is roughly evenly split between a mostly Christian south and Muslim-majority north, is home to myriad conflicts, which experts say kill both Christians and Muslims, often without distinction.
Some analysts suggest that Washington’s amped-up rhetoric could be related to Abuja rejecting demands to accept non-Nigerian deportees expelled from the United States as part of Trump’s immigration crackdown.
