UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 5 (Sputnik) - The United States is intentionally aggravating tensions in the Middle East with targeted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said during a United Nations Security Council meeting.

"It's clear that American airstrikes are specifically, deliberately aimed to stoke the conflict," Nebenzya said on Monday.

The diplomat stressed that the US strikes on Iraq and Syria are an attempt by Washington to improve the poor image of the current administration before the presidential election.

"The largest US air operation in the region since 2003, presented by Joe Biden as an act of retaliation for a UAV attack of unidentified origin on an illegally located US base in Syria, has no justification," Nebenzya said.

"We see in this attempt to play with muscles, first of all, a desire to influence the domestic political situation in America and a desire to somehow correct the failed image of the current American administration in the international arena in light of the presidential election campaign gaining momentum," he emphasized.

Russia calls on the international community to condemn the strikes by the United States and its allies on Iraq and Syria, the official highlighted.

"We call on the international community to unequivocally condemn the reckless actions of Washington and its allies in the Middle East that violate the sovereignty of Iraq and Syria," Nebenzya said.

The recent strikes by the US and Britain on Syria and Iraq were carried out in violation of international law, the diplomat insisted.

"We thank Deputy Secretary General Rosemary DiCarlo for the briefing, we heard a lot of verbal nonsense from her, but we did not hear the most important thing -- unconditional condemnation of violations of international law by the United States and Britain," Nebenzya stressed.

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