Vasily Nebenzya, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN, said on April 27 that Russia condemns the increase in the number of Israeli strikes on Syrian territory since the beginning of 2023 and the lack of response from the leadership of the international organization to these actions.
“(We. – Ed.) are concerned about the intensification of Israeli air strikes on the territory of Syria. Since the beginning of this year, more than 10 such attacks have been carried out, as a result of which the international airport in Aleppo, through which humanitarian aid is delivered to victims of the devastating earthquake, was twice disabled. Such military actions in violation of the sovereignty of Syria and neighboring Arab countries, as well as the absence of any reaction from the UN leadership, cause deep regret and condemnation,” he said at a meeting of the UN Security Council (SC) on Syria.
He also noted that the mechanism of cross-border assistance in Syria has long exhausted its potential and serves completely different, far from humanitarian, goals.
“The situation looks as if the UN permits issued by Damascus for the use of two additional checkpoints within three months have actually nullified the UN’s enthusiasm to unblock supplies through the lines of contact,” Nebenzia stressed.
According to him, the West will continue to pretend that nothing is happening and ignore the “sabotage” of the Security Council’s decision by “internationally recognized terrorists.” In this regard, the Russian Federation will draw conclusions when developing a position in the context of the upcoming extension of the cross-border mechanism in July.
Earlier, on April 25, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the events in the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem and on the line of separation between Lebanon, Israel and Syria had increased tension in the region to an extremely dangerous level.
On April 9, Israel launched strikes on the military complex of the fourth division of the Syrian army, radar systems and artillery positions in response to the rocket attack by Damascus on the Jewish state.
At the same time, Syria reported explosions in the vicinity of Damascus. At the same time, the Israel Defense Forces wrote on social networks about the beginning of the shelling of Syrian territory.
On April 3, explosions were also heard in the vicinity of Damascus, Syrian air defense systems repelled the attack. Then it was reported about the strikes from Israel.
Prior to this, on April 2, the Ministry of Defense of the Syrian Arab Republic reported five Syrian soldiers injured in an Israeli strike on a base in Homs. Israel launched an air strike from a direction northeast of Beirut.
On the night of March 30, it became known that the Syrian air defense (air defense) systems reflect an Israeli attack in the sky in the vicinity of Damascus. On the same day, the Syrian Defense Ministry reported that as a result of an Israeli attack on a suburb of Damascus, two Syrian soldiers were wounded. It was clarified that the Syrian air defense systems responded to enemy missiles and shot down several of them, but there were casualties, as well as material damage.
Syria and Israel have been at war since 1948, when the independence of Israel was declared. In 1967, during the Six Day War, Israel occupied part of the Golan Heights, which had belonged to Syria since 1944.
In 1981, the Israeli Parliament unilaterally asserted Israeli sovereignty over them. Periodically, the parties made attempts to achieve peace, but to no avail.
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