Russia is calling on Israel to refrain from carrying out airstrikes near its air base in Syria in its war against Lebanese Hezbollah, as it did in October, a senior Russian official said on Wednesday.
Official Syrian media reported in mid-October an Israeli airstrike on the port city of Latakia, one of the strongholds of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a supporter of the Lebanese Islamist movement Hezbollah, and himself supported by the Russia in the war in its country. The city is close to the Russian Hmeimim air base, very close to Latakia airport.
“Israel did indeed carry out an airstrike in the immediate vicinity of Hmeimim,” said Alexander Lavrentiev, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy for the Middle East, in an interview with the RIA Novosti news agency on Wednesday.
“Our military obviously notified Israeli officials that such acts likely to endanger the lives of Russian soldiers there were unacceptable,” he continued. “That is why we hope that this event which took place in October will not happen again,” Mr. Lavrentiev stressed.
The Israeli air force carries out intensive strikes on Syria but rarely targets the city of Latakia, northwest of Damascus.
Israel accuses Hezbollah, in open war against Israel since September 23, of transporting weapons from Syria. “We are not making our base available to supply the Lebanese Hezbollah,” assured Alexander Lavrentiev for his part.
Israel has intensified its raids on Syria at the same time as its intensive strikes targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Since the civil war broke out in 2011 in Syria, Israel has carried out hundreds of raids on the country targeting the Syrian army and Tehran-backed movements, notably Hezbollah, deployed in support of government forces.
Israeli authorities rarely comment on these strikes but say they will not allow Iran, Israel’s sworn enemy, to expand its presence in Syria.
Russia is calling on Israel to refrain from carrying out airstrikes near its air base in Syria in its war against Lebanese Hezbollah, as it did in October, a senior Russian official said on Wednesday.
Official Syrian media reported in mid-October an Israeli airstrike on the city…
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