Russia on Thursday expressed deep concern over reported Israeli airstrikes against targets in Syria, saying that such attacks, if proved true, violate the U.N. Charter and are unacceptable. The Syrian military said Israel war jets struck a military research center located in the Jumraya suburb of the capital of Damascus at dawn Wednesday.
"If this information is confirmed, we face unprovoked strikes against targets on the territory of a sovereign state, which gravely violates the UN Charter and is unacceptable, whatever the justification is," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Russia has been taking urgent steps to verify the Syrian claims, the statement said.
Moscow once again called for an end to any violence in Syria and the start of inter-Syrian dialogue based on the Geneva agreements of June 30, 2012, without foreign intervention.
The Syrian military said Israeli war jets sneaked in from the border region of al-Shaikh Mountain and launched the attack. It denied press reports that the strike targeted a convoy that was allegedly transporting weapons from Syria to Lebanon. Western media said the convoy was believed to be carrying weapons to the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, a staunch ally of Syria.
Top Israeli officials have recently expressed worries that Bashar al-Assad's government could pass chemical weapons to Hezbollah or other militant groups if it falls.