 Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Adnan Mansour vigorously condemned the bombing on Wednesday early morning of a military analysis and research center in Jemrayya, in suburban Damascus. According to the Lebanese foreign minister, the event is a blatant violation of the country's sovereignty that also shows that Tel Aviv's behavior since 1948 is a permanent threat to Arab peace and security, he asserted. The Arab League called the violation of the Syrian air space and the bombing of the surrounding areas of the city of Damascus a brutal aggression. In a press release, the Arab League General Secretariat stated its stance towards the incident and called it a flagrant violation of the territory and sovereignty of an Arab state. The incident near Damascus on Wednesday violates the UN Charter, International Law and the UN Security Council resolutions, the organization said. Likewise, the group demanded that the international community assume its responsibilities and exert pressure on Israel to put an end to its attacks against Arab states. International silence about previous attacks against Syria encouraged Israel to continue its aggressions, taking advantage of the difficult situation that this nation is undergoing, the text said. Russia also expressed its concern for the bombing by Israeli aircraft against Syrian territory, describing it as an unacceptable violation of the UN Charter. The Russian foreign minister said in a communique issued today that Moscow received the news of the Israeli air attack against places near Damascus with great concern. "We think that such an attack is unjustifiable in the territory of a sovereign state and it is a flagrant violation of the UN Charter, whatever the reasons might be," said the foreign minister of that Euro-Asian country. He called for the adoption of quick measures to clarify all details of the situation and to stop any form of violence in Syria, to avoid any kind of interference in its internal affairs and to support the beginning of a national negotiation, based on the Geneva Statement. sc/sa/iom/tgj/lr |