Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov slammed US double standards over Syria’s Golan Heights and the Donbass region in Ukraine.
Speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was asked to respond to comments made by the US envoy to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield about the need to protect “territorial integrity” in the context of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Lavrov answered by reading a Russian statement on the Donbass:
“The Donbass is very important to Russia’s security,” the statement read.
“As long as Zelensky is in power in Ukraine, as long as NATO is present in Ukraine, militia groups backed by NATO, the Zelensky regime itself – all of these pose a significant security threat to Russia, and as a practical matter, the control of the Donbass in that situation, I think, remains of real importance to Russia’s security. Legal questions are something else. And over time, if the situation were to change in Ukraine, that’s something we’d look at. But we are nowhere near as that.”
Soon after, Lavrov read the text of an interview of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken with CNN, on February 8, 2021.
“The Golan is very important to Israel’s security,” Blinken had told CNN journalist Wolf Blitzer.
“As long as Assad is in power in Syria, as long as Iran is present in Syria, militia groups backed by Iran, the Assad regime itself – all of these pose a significant security threat to Israel, and as a practical matter, the control of the Golan in that situation, I think, remains of real importance to Israel’s security. Legal questions are something else,” Blinken had added.
“And that is the answer to your question,” Lavrov said.
Dobro jutro!
Lavrov accuses U.S. of double standards over Golan Heights, Donbas https://t.co/j0TkMKobJW
— alvaro rojas (@alvarorojasr) September 24, 2023
Thomas-Greenfield made her comments at a press briefing on September 14. When asked about Israeli occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights she said that her country’s recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over that area has not changed.
Israel occupied the Golan Heights in 1967 and illegally annexed the area in 1981. In March 2019, former US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation unilaterally recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the territory.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
