Syria condemned US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to the “occupied” Golan Heights on Thursday and described it as a provocative act.
Pompeo became the first US secretary of state to visit an Israeli West Bank settlement and the Golan Heights.
Syria called on the international community and the UN to condemn the “provocative” visit, which it said violated international resolutions, a government source was quoted on state media as saying, Reuters reported.
“The visit is a provocative move before the end of Trump’s administration and a flagrant violation of our sovereignty,” the statement said.
For his part, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit also condemned Pompeo's unprecedented visit.
"This action is a flagrant violation of international legitimacy and encourages the right-wing Israeli government to continue its illegal settlement construction, deemed the greatest obstacle to peace based on the two-state solution," he was quoted as saying in a statement.
He also stressed that Pompeo’s trip would not change the internationally recognized status of the Palestinian lands.
Remarkably, the Trump administration recognized Israel’s claim to sovereignty over the Golan Heights in 2019.
