Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday the series of Israeli strikes on Syria threaten to destabilize the region and represent an escalation that concerns Moscow.
Israeli airstrikes on Syria on the eve of July 1, the largest attack since May 2018, caused major concern in Russia, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a press briefing.
“We are concerned about this alarming development of the situation,” Zakharova added, noting that their escalation is of “extreme concern.”
“The use of force, blatantly violating Syria’s sovereignty, not only prevents normalization of the situation in the country but also carries the potential of destabilizing the region, in which none of the Middle Eastern states can see their national security interests reliably ensured,” the Russian official stated.
On Monday eve, Syrian air defense facilities repelled a missile attack targeting Damascus and Homs. According to SANA news agency, Israeli warplanes fired missiles from Lebanon’s airspace.
Syrian air defenses managed to down the missiles fired by Israeli warships before reaching the Syrian territorial waters, noting that the missiles S – 200 in the Syrian air defense system dropped six Israeli missiles targeting military sites in Homs.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, these missiles were targeting military sites in which Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah militants are deployed, scientific research center and a military airport, killing 15 people, including six civilians.
Israel didn’t comment on the incident despite acknowledging in the past hundreds of attacks on targets in Syria.
Labeling the attacks as “state terrorism,” Syria's foreign ministry filed a complaint to the United Nations Security Council over the attack, demanding accountability and taking firm and immediate measures to prevent the recurrence of such attacks.
Syria said Israel’s “dangerous and hostile” actions would not have been possible without the support of its ally the United States, which protects it in the Security Council.
“Israel’s aggression on Syrian territory comes within the framework of the ongoing Israeli attempts to prolong the Syrian crisis and the terrorist war against it,” it added.
The Syrian air defense forces operated batteries of its Russian S-300 during the Israeli aggression, yet it didn’t use it, a Syrian military source said in media statements.
