MOSCOW. Oct 29 (Interfax) - There has been no official request from Lebanon for the provision of satellite images dating back to the Beirut port blasts, the Roscosmos press service told Interfax.
"We haven't received an official request," the press service said.
The Lebanese radio and television company said earlier on Friday that Lebanese President Michel Aoun had formally asked Russian Ambassador Alexander Rudakov to convey Lebanon's desire to receive satellite images of the Beirut port explosions to Moscow.
When speaking at a plenary meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in response to a request from a Lebanese journalist to provide photos for the investigation of the explosion at the Port of Beirut, "I promise you that, of course, I will make enquiries. If we have it [satellite images from the site of the explosion] and if we are in a position to assist with the investigation, we will certainly do so. But first, I need to talk to colleagues who may have such information."
Putin also said he was not sure that such photos exist.
On August 4, 2020, a series of powerful explosions rocked the Beirut Port. Some 200 people died, a large number of buildings were destroyed, and windows and doors were blown out. The building of the international airport was also damaged.
Roscosmos published satellite images of the Beirut port made by Russia's Kanopus-B satellite on August 5. The images depicted the aftermath of the explosions: not a single building was left standing in the epicenter. The blast wave demolished numerous storage facilities and small buildings.
According to the Lebanese authorities, 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, seized by customs services six years before, exploded at the port warehouse where they were being stored.