Russia is Demanding Israel to Halt Aerial Attacks on Syria
Presidential Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev said on November 23, 2022 that the Russian government firmly opposes Israeli airstrikes on Syrian soil. According to TAAS, Lavrentiev then called on Israel to cease these airstrikes.
The Russian envoy gave a speech following the 19th
international meeting on Syria in the Astana format.
“As for Israeli airstrikes, we are strongly against such actions by the Israelis, even though they still say that this is their legal right. But we see that people are dying, not just infrastructure and arsenal being destroyed, and all this is happening on the territory of a sovereign state. Such actions, of course, are illegal, and do not comply with any international norms and laws. We are not only calling, we are demanding that Israel should stop these airstrikes and we will continue to do so,” he stated.
Lavrentiev lamented that Israel still is ignoring Russia on this matter.
“I think that this position on the part of the Israeli government requires adjustment,” the envoy emphasized.
Russia first intervened in Syria back in 2015, in an effort to prop up the embattled government of Bashar al-Assad. Other countries like Iran have also used its proxies to not only prop up the Assad government but also expand its influence in Syria.
This has alarmed Israel, which treats Iran as an existential threat and will not tolerate any of its proxy forces close to its border. As a result, Israel has launched airstrikes into Syria targeting these Iranian-backed militias.
With Russia becoming more assertive on the world stage and Iran becoming a more prominent player in Middle Eastern politics, Israel can no longer throw its weight around at will. The unipolar moment, where Israel’s primary patron in the United States could write it a blank check, is now over.
Consequently, Israel will see its most controversial moves receive significant pushback from Eurasian actors like Iran and Russia. It’s a whole new geopolitical world out here and many actors on the world stage will have to readjust to the realities of multipolarity.
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