Russia's Lavrov condemns Israeli missile strikes on Syria
Published: 05:08 PM,Aug 23,2022 | EDITED : 09:08 PM,Aug 23,2022
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) with his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad during a press conference following their talks in Moscow on Tuesday. -- AFP
MOSCOW/TEHRAN: Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday condemned Israeli missile attacks against Syria, in comments that underline a chill in once-warm Russian-Israel relations.
Lavrov was speaking at a joint news conference alongside his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad.
'We strongly condemned the dangerous practice of Israeli strikes on Syrian territory,' Lavrov said.
'We demand that Israel respect the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and, above all, respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria.'
Israel hit Iranian targets in a series of strikes on August 14 near Syria's President Bashar al Assad's ancestral home region and also close to Russia's main Syrian bases on the Mediterranean coast, regional intelligence and Syrian military sources said.
Speaking at the same news conference in Moscow, Mekdad gave Lavrov his backing to Russia's actions in Ukraine, which Moscow calls a 'special military operation' to disarm and 'denazify' its smaller southern neighbour.
IRGC GENERAL KILLED
Meanwhile, a general of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been killed while 'on a mission' in Syria, Iranian state media reported on Tuesday.
'General Abolfazl Alijani, a member of the IRGC's ground forces who was on a mission in Syria as a military adviser, was martyred on Sunday,' the state broadcaster said on its website.
It described Alijani as a 'defender of the sanctuary', a term used for those who work on behalf of Iran in Syria or Iraq, without providing more details of the attack in which he was killed.
Iran says it has deployed its forces in Syria at the invitation of Damascus and only as advisers.
In early August, funeral processions were held in Tehran and other Iranian cities for five IRGC members killed in Syria several years ago, after their bodies were recovered and identified through DNA testing, Iranian
TALKS WITH TURKEY
Also on Tuesday, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said, in a further softening of Ankara's stance towards Damascus after a decade of hostility, that his country does not have preconditions for dialogue with the Syrian government.
Turkey has cut diplomatic relations with Damascus early in the 11-year conflict. But the two countries' intelligence chiefs have maintained contact and recent comments from President Tayyip Erdogan's government suggest a move towards political engagement, alarming Assad's opponents in the remaining pocket of rebel-held Syria.
Cavusoglu said two weeks ago that the Syrian opposition and government must be brought together for reconciliation, and Erdogan said diplomatic relations could never be fully cut.
After visiting Russia, which has strongly backed Assad, Erdogan said President Vladimir Putin had suggested that Turkey cooperate with the Syrian government along their joint border, where Erdogan is planning a further military incursion against Syrian Kurdish fighters he says pose a security threat.
Asked about the prospect for any talks, Cavusoglu said they would need to have specific goals.
'There cannot be a condition for dialogue, but what is the aim of these contacts? The country needs to be cleared of terrorists... People need to be able to return,' Cavusoglu told broadcaster Haber Global.
'No conditions for dialogue, but what is the aim, the target? It needs to be goal-oriented,' he said. -- Reuters, AFP
Lavrov was speaking at a joint news conference alongside his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad.
'We strongly condemned the dangerous practice of Israeli strikes on Syrian territory,' Lavrov said.
'We demand that Israel respect the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and, above all, respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria.'
Israel hit Iranian targets in a series of strikes on August 14 near Syria's President Bashar al Assad's ancestral home region and also close to Russia's main Syrian bases on the Mediterranean coast, regional intelligence and Syrian military sources said.
Speaking at the same news conference in Moscow, Mekdad gave Lavrov his backing to Russia's actions in Ukraine, which Moscow calls a 'special military operation' to disarm and 'denazify' its smaller southern neighbour.
IRGC GENERAL KILLED
Meanwhile, a general of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been killed while 'on a mission' in Syria, Iranian state media reported on Tuesday.
'General Abolfazl Alijani, a member of the IRGC's ground forces who was on a mission in Syria as a military adviser, was martyred on Sunday,' the state broadcaster said on its website.
It described Alijani as a 'defender of the sanctuary', a term used for those who work on behalf of Iran in Syria or Iraq, without providing more details of the attack in which he was killed.
Iran says it has deployed its forces in Syria at the invitation of Damascus and only as advisers.
In early August, funeral processions were held in Tehran and other Iranian cities for five IRGC members killed in Syria several years ago, after their bodies were recovered and identified through DNA testing, Iranian
TALKS WITH TURKEY
Also on Tuesday, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said, in a further softening of Ankara's stance towards Damascus after a decade of hostility, that his country does not have preconditions for dialogue with the Syrian government.
Turkey has cut diplomatic relations with Damascus early in the 11-year conflict. But the two countries' intelligence chiefs have maintained contact and recent comments from President Tayyip Erdogan's government suggest a move towards political engagement, alarming Assad's opponents in the remaining pocket of rebel-held Syria.
Cavusoglu said two weeks ago that the Syrian opposition and government must be brought together for reconciliation, and Erdogan said diplomatic relations could never be fully cut.
After visiting Russia, which has strongly backed Assad, Erdogan said President Vladimir Putin had suggested that Turkey cooperate with the Syrian government along their joint border, where Erdogan is planning a further military incursion against Syrian Kurdish fighters he says pose a security threat.
Asked about the prospect for any talks, Cavusoglu said they would need to have specific goals.
'There cannot be a condition for dialogue, but what is the aim of these contacts? The country needs to be cleared of terrorists... People need to be able to return,' Cavusoglu told broadcaster Haber Global.
'No conditions for dialogue, but what is the aim, the target? It needs to be goal-oriented,' he said. -- Reuters, AFP