Lebanon receives Beirut blast satellite images from Russia

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV and SARAH EL DEEB

MOSCOW (AP) — Lebanon’s Foreign Minister says his country has received from Russia satellite images of the Port of Beirut on the day of last year’s devastating blast. The imagery would be the first to be received by Lebanese investigators from a foreign government in a probe marred by obstruction and legal challenges. Minister Abdallah Bouhabib spoke Monday during a visit to Moscow following a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. Russia’s space agency Roscosmos said it would provide the satellite images after a request from Lebanon’s President. Lavrov said the images showed the port of Beirut before the blast and also the scene after the blast and hoped Lebanon determines the blast’s cause, calling the issue a major political irritant in the small country.