Russia says concerned over Israeli air raids in Syria

Russia says concerned over Israeli air raids in Syria

Thursday, 31 January 2013

Russian FM Sergei Lavrov (R) speaks during a joint press conference with his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Moualem. (AFP)

Russia said on Thursday it was very concerned about reports of an Israeli air attack deep inside Syria near its capital Damascus. Any action of such, if confirmed, would amount to unacceptable military interference in the war-ravaged country, the Russian foreign ministry said on Thursday.

“If this information is confirmed, then we are dealing with unprovoked attacks on targets on the territory of a sovereign country, which blatantly violates the U.N. Charter and is unacceptable, no matter the motives to justify it,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Russia added that it was taking "urgent measures" to clarify the situation.

"We once again call on the end to all violence in Syria, underscoring the inadmissability of any type of intervention from abroad, and the start of inter-Syrian dialogue based on the Geneva agreements of June 30, 2012," the Russian statement said.


Israeli fighter jets have struck a convoy on the Syria-Lebanon border suspected of carrying sophisticated Russian-made surface-to-air missiles, Al Arabiya correspondent Ziad Halabi reported from Jerusalem on Wednesday.

Halabi said “security indications” pointed to a convoy carrying surface-to-air missiles being smuggled into Syria via the Lebanese border. The Lebanese army had reported a heavy presence of Israeli jets over its territory throughout the night.

In the same vain, Syrian state television accused Israel of bombing a military research center at Jamraya, between Damascus and the nearby border. However, Syrian opposition fighters disputed that, saying their forces had attacked the site.

Russia has been trying to shield Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from international pressure to end the civil war against opposition forces that has ravaged the country over 22 months and killed an estimated 60,000 people. Moscow has repeatedly spoken against any foreign interference in Syria, especially military action.

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