Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya

The Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, declared that his country condemns the unceasing Israeli air attacks on Syria, stressing that Russia sees re-launching direct inter-Syrian dialogue in Geneva as a dire need.

“We condemn unceasing air attacks of Israel against the Syrian territory which undermine stabilization efforts in Syria and the region at large,” he said, emphasizing that terrorists in Idlib are trying to take advantage of the instability in the south.

Russia’s PR also maintained that 760 bombardments of governmental positions were recorded in the past month only, resulting in the injury of several dozen Syrian servicemen.

He added that the situation is deteriorating in the area of Turkish operations in the north of Syria and in the cross-Euphrates region, where clashes between Kurds and pro-Turkish formations and Arab tribes are continuing, confirming that Russia “counts on soonest re-launch of direct inter-Syrian dialogue in Geneva.”

The top diplomat said, “It is vital that this process should remain Syrian-led and Syrian-owned [and should] proceed without imposing any deliberate deadlines and under neutral mediation of the United Nations,” citing recent experiences which have proven that it was wrong to link the continuation of talks to impossible conditions and requirements.

About the peace process in Syria, Nebenzya confirmed, “We proceed from the understanding that Syria may enjoy lasting peace and stability only once it has fully restored its sovereignty and territorial integrity; once illegal foreign presence has withdrawn from its territory; and once terrorists have been permanently defeated.”

It is worth mentioning that Syria called on the UN Security Council to condemn the continuous Israeli aggression against it and to take firm measures to prevent their recurrence.

A Syrian military source had reported on September 3 that the Syrian Air Defense intercepted several hostile targets in Damascus airspace, shooting down the majority of them. He also pointed out that the Israeli occupation launched the attack from the direction of the Lebanese capital, Beirut's southeast.