The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba expresses its strongest condemnation of the declared intention of the United States government to recognize the occupied Syrian Golan as Israeli territory, which constitutes a serious and flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter, international law, and the Security Council’s relevant resolutions, in particular Resolution 497 of 1981.

This new Washington maneuver which violates the legitimate interests of the Syrian people and Arab and Islamic nations will have serious consequences for stability and security in the Middle East and further increase tensions in this volatile region.

Cuba urges the Security Council to fulfill its responsibility, established in the UN Charter, to maintain international peace and security, and to adopt the necessary decisions to stop this unilateral U.S. action by supporting Israel in its intentions to annex the Golan Heights, occupied Syrian territory.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba will continue to support the Syrian government’s demand to recover the Golan Heights, seized by Israel in 1967, and once again demands the total and unconditional withdrawal of Israel from the Syrian Golan and all occupied Arab territories.

Havana March 23, 2019.

It was precisely on April 18 that the work of the investigators of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) began in Douma, an area of Eastern Ghouta, close to Damascus.

Although Trump and his allies in France and Britain have spoken of a “successful” operation against Syria, the reality is that 71% of the missiles launched were intercepted and destroyed by the Syrian Armed Forces, before they reached their intended targets.

It is worth adding that on April 15, it was announced that with Russian collaboration, the Eastern Ghouta area had been completely cleared of terrorists, a success celebrated by residents who returned to their homes, as children resumed their studies and workers returned to their jobs.

In the international arena, the attacks have been criticized both in the United States, where demonstrations took place in some 40 cities, and in other places, with calls to respect Syria’s territorial integrity.

The Russian representative to the OPCW, Alexander Shulguin, announced that Russia has irrefutable proof that no chemical attack took place in Douma.

However, as expected, European governments, as well as the Gulf monarchies, have expressed their approval of the attacks on Syria.

Syria’s seven-year war has left almost half a million dead and resulted in crippling destruction of infrastructure. Photo: SANA
This is not the first time that these governments have bowed to such imperialist actions, without stopping to analyze the lie used as a pretext and the possible consequences of such acts.

While Trump has cynically claimed that he acted in accordance with the U.S. Constitution, it is not surprising that some European leaders have described the attack as necessary to stop Syria’s alleged use of chemical weapons.

The UN Security Council demonstrated its bias when a majority opposed the Russian resolution that condemned the attack and demanded that it not be repeated.

The green light given to Washington in this global body, which should guarantee peace rather than vote in favor of war, is a real slap in the face to the international community.

Russia’s Ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, warned that the attack launched on Syria by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France will have consequences for these countries.

“The worst apprehensions have come true. Our warnings have been left unheard.

A pre-designed scenario is being implemented. Again, we are being threatened. We warned that such actions will not be left without consequences. All responsibility for them rests with Washington, London, and Paris,” read an official statement.

The head of the Russian diplomatic delegation in Washington also described President Donald Trump’s allegations regarding Russian President Vladimir Putin’s responsibility for the alleged chemical attack as “unacceptable and inadmissible,” and stressed, “The U.S. – the possessor of the biggest arsenal of chemical weapons – has no moral right to blame other countries.”

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron assured that the bombing was not a declaration of war against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but in defense of international law and UN resolutions.

Macron described the attacks as a “military success,” noting that, “The operation against the chemical capabilities of the Syrian regime… has achieved its objectives,” and stressing that there had been no collateral damage.

Meanwhile, Spanish newspaper El Mundo Washington correspondent, Pablo Pardo, wrote that the military operation against Syria has cost between 73 and 143 million euros.

He also noted that Trump “premiered” the new JASSM-ER missile against Syria, manufactured by one of the largest arms dealers in the world, Lockheed Martin. The Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range is launched from planes, carries half a ton of explosives and has a range of more than one thousand kilometers.

This must be the weapon that Trump was referring to when he warned Russia that “nice and new and smart” missiles would be used against Syria.

Regarding the attacks against the Arab nation, the Presidents of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and Iran, Hassan Rouhani, agreed that the bombings damaged the possibility of a political solution to the Syrian conflict.

Not content with all the actions taken to date against Syria and its Russian and Iranian allies, Washington announced it was considering new economic sanctions against Moscow-based companies.

In response to the announcement, Evgeny Serebrennikov, deputy head of the defense committee of Russia’s upper house of Parliament, stated that Moscow was “ready” to face the sanctions.

“They are hard for us, but will do more damage to the U.S. and Europe,” RIA news agencyquoted him as saying.

What is clear is that once again a pattern of lies was imposed to militarily attack a sovereign country. Meanwhile, modern and sophisticated missiles cross the skies over a nation that believed it was reaching the end of a seven-year war, which has left almost half a million dead and resulted in the crippling destruction of its infrastructure.

(Granma)

(Cubaminrex)

Two similar projectiles struck in Tuesday morning in the busy area of Baramkeh, near the headquarters of the news agency SANA, in this capital.

Several people were injured and property damage was reported in surrounding buildings and vehicles.

In separate incidents, a homemade missile struck today at the University Maternity Hospital building, located in the district of Baramkeh, causing the partial collapse of one of its floors.

Early reports make reference to several people injured and considerable property damage.

After that at least three mortars fell at the headquarters of the University of Damascus, one of them at the entrance to the Law School, also in this populous area.

The government blames for such attacks armed gangs which are dislocated on the outskirts of the city and try to overthrow it.

The religious leader also said that the situation falls within the context of the continuous efforts by certain countries to divide the Middle East and create pretexts to guarantee the preponderance of Israel’s interests in the region.

During a meeting with

an Indian delegation that is visiting this capital, the Grand Mufti highlighted the importance of the media in distributing the true image of the international offensive against Damascus, SANA news agency reported.

The delegation, headed by attorney Feroze Mithiborwala, is also composed of members of media outlets, jurists, and human rights activists from the Asian country.

Hassun said the offensive against this nation “seeks to revive Ottoman hegemony over the region, allied to oil monarchies subjugated by the United States and Israel.”

He criticized destruction of cultural landmarks by the armed groups, paid and sponsored by the West, in an attempt to overthrow the government of President Bashar al Assad, said the source.

Mithiborwala agreed that attempts to sow sedition among the Syrian people would ultimately fail.

During another conversation between the visitors and Syrian Journalist Union President Elias Murad, the Indian delegation’s president asserted that the objective of the visit was on-the-spot verification of the country’s situation in order to report it objectively to the people in India.

It is urgent to unmask all media fabrications about Syria, he said.

This situation was observed in Daf al-Shouk and Al-Tadamun neighborhoods, in southern Damascus, where irregular forces were confronted in a first government offensive,

but returned to some areas.

A military source said yesterday that some armed groups that returned or came out of hiding were eliminated in al-Tadamun, after the passage of the first operations performed weeks ago.

A state employee told media that before Ramadan festivities, he was forced to leave the area with his family, because gunmen terrorized the population. Now, the city asked government forces to remain in the zone to prevent rebel groups from returning.

Another person said insurgents used different weapons to destroy homes and businesses. They created passages not to expose to take the streets. Meanwhile, assurance position tasks continue in areas of the capital and in Rural Damascus, east, where reminders of gands still appear in Douma, Bibila and Yelda, south, province of Daraa, 110 kilometers, and clashes against insurgent groups were reported.

es seriously consider the reestablishment of peace and calm in Syria, and rejected any foreign military intervention in that Arab country.

Salehi made his demand at the International Conference Center of the Iranian Television Corporation (IRIB) and at bilateral meetings with visiting foreign ministers.

Speaking with his Lebanese counterpart, Adnan Mansour, who is attending the meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement, Salehi called for political will to achieve peace, stop the bloodshed and promote reconciliation.

The Iranian foreign minister also spoke before 70 peers from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, and met with the Syrian minister for National Reconciliation, Ali Haydar.

Salehi and Mansour agreed that the NAM must prioritize the restoration of peace and stability in Syria in its ministerial agenda and among the heads of State and Government, as well as reject foreign interventions and provide humanitarian aid to all.

Salehi expressed similar viewpoints at a meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna, who expressed confidence in the Syrian people to restore normality in the country.

Speaking at the opening session of the ministerial meeting, Salehi thanked Egypt for its efforts during its NAM presidency over the past three years, and Syrian Minister Haydar urged Cairo to define its stance regarding Damascus.

Egyptian Deputy Foreign Minister said here that all 118 members of the Third World forum must pave the way to solve the crisis in weak countries through joint talks; however, he omitted references to Syria and spoke directly about Palestine.

Although the resignation by UN special envoy Kofi Annan, to mediate in the Syrian conflict and the reactions caused in many capitals of the world, was closely followed, confrontations in the northern province of Aleppo were the focus of major news programs.

On Thursday night, armed gangs fired two mortar shells in al-Yarmuk, in Zleikha neighborhood, killing 15 Palestinians and wounded other residents, an official source reported today.

A regional popular committee stated in a release that those gangs fired from a near neighborhood of al-Tadhaman and warned on security risk in the camp.

Meanwhile in Aleppo, many actions in areas near the city and towards Turkey border caused material and human losses to those armed gangs.

Other actions were reported in some areas near the city of Homs, included the elimination of many terrorists who moved in two vans with weapons and other military supplies at a traffic circle of the Homs-Tartus road.

On the other hand, Al-Manar newspaper website stated that governmental forces occupied the command post of the Syrian Free Army, located at a Sarhur school in Aleppo, killing 150 people, Iranian TV channel reported.

According to the presidential assistant, Putin and Obama agreed that a constructive solution to the situation is needed.

The entire conversation was about the intensification of the crisis in Syria, which is approaching civil war, with terrorist attacks, said Ushakov. “Our decision was clear when we reiterated that we condemn any type of terrorist action, no matters where it comes from, and we hope that the US will join this position,” he said.

In their talks, Putin and Obama summarily referred to Syrian President Bashad Al Assad, whom Washington demands step down, while Moscow believes that only the Syrian people can decide the political destinity of their country.

However, the conversation focused on the two resolutions regarding Syria, presented at the UN Security Council, one by Russia and China, and the other by the United States, United Kingdom, and France. The vote on those documents was postponed until today.

The resolution from Moscow and Beijing is aimed at extending the UN observers mission for another three months, while the Western powers want to impose more sanctions on Damascus and a possible implementation of the 7th article of the UN Chapter on the use of force.

According to an official announcement, Annan will talk here on the conflict with the current UN Secretary General and his successor since 2006, Ban Ki-moon, as well as the members of the Security Council.

The new emissary will listen to the opinions the UN members have to solve the conflict in Syria, the source stated.

In early February, the Security Council staged

a failed attempt by Western powers and a group of Arab states that pretended to reach the consent from that body to remove Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The maneuver was impeded due to a double veto by Russia and China, as permanent members of that UN body.

Two weeks later, the General Assembly approved a resolution that held the Syrian government responsible for the crisis and supported an AL plan on the problem.

After those actions, Ban Ki-moon and the AL general secretary appointed Annan in London on February 23 as a special envoy from both organizations on the Syrian crisis.

by www.prensa-latina.cu