Israeli attacks on Syria 'irresponsible, risk escalations': Russia
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Zakharova condemns the Israeli aggression against Syria and reiterates Russia's pursuit of peace in the Middle East.
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Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova attends Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's annual news conference in Moscow, Russia, on January 18, 2023 (AP)
Russia condemns the "unjustified violations Israel is carrying out against Syrian territories," said the spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, on Saturday.
Responding to a question posed by Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Moscow, regarding the possibility of the presence of Russian forces in Syria affecting "Israel's" actions, or stopping them, Zakharova denounced the occupation's "irresponsible" actions and said they increase the risk of escalating armed conflict in the Middle East, and drive the region into a dangerous situation.
Zakharova further recalled that the region was almost engulfed in a "large war" in April after the "provocative strike" the Israeli occupation carried out against the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
She consequently called on the Israeli administration to "refrain from aggressive actions against Syria and to respect international norms to avoid dire consequences."
“Israeli attacks on neighboring countries under the pretext of preventive elimination of threats to national security are not condemned by all members of the international community,” the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman noted. “Those who might try to prevent events from developing in this way,” Maria Zakharova added, “first and foremost Israel’s strategic partner, the United States, and its Western allies, remain silent and accept these missile strikes and ongoing shelling as reality.”
While the presence of US forces in the eastern Euphrates, and "their cooperation with terrorist elements, constitutes an obstacle to achieving stability in this country," Zakharova says, "Russia is making every effort to prevent a major escalation."
She stressed that Russia has specific proposals that are well known to everyone regarding settling the so-called Palestinian-Israeli conflict and achieving security in the Middle East, and that "these proposals are still open for discussion, and Russia is ready to discuss them with the countries of the region."
Israeli strikes on Syria 'unacceptable': Russia MFA
In March, Zakharova stated that Moscow strongly condemns Israeli strikes targeting Syria, deeming them unacceptable and provocative.
"We strongly condemn these provocative military actions, which can lead to extremely dangerous consequences in the context of a sharp deterioration of the situation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone," the spokeswoman said in a statement while also calling Israeli actions "unacceptable."
The statements come after an Israeli aggression on Aleppo resulted in the deaths of 40 people.
In addition to the number of martyrs, the Syrian Ministry of Defense said that the aggression was carried out on multiple sites across the city and resulted in extensive amounts of material damage.
The Ministry further said that the aggression coincided with a drone attack carried out by terrorist organizations from Idlib and the western countryside of Aleppo.
Forty people, including five members of Hezbollah, were martyred in the attacks, Reuters reported, citing two security sources.
