Russia demands Israel comply with 1974 Golan Heights disengagement agreement

UN, April 28. /TASS/. Israel must return to compliance with the provisions of the agreement on separation of Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights and respect the UN Security Council resolutions on Syria, Russia's Permanent Representative to the world organization Vasily Nebenzya said. "Israel's policy of systematically expanding its occupation, maintaining its military control and freedom of action with unilateral demands for demilitarization while renouncing any of its own obligations has become a determining factor in the Middle East today. At the same time, we often hear attempts to blame everything on the allegedly destructive activity of external forces plotting against Israel as an excuse for aggressive actions. The inferiority of such an argument runs into the example of Syria, from whose territory not a single shot has been fired towards Israel in recent years," Nebenzya said at a meeting of the Security Council on the Middle East. "Damascus is also ready for a serious dialogue with West Jerusalem on a comprehensive solution to the security issues. Despite all this, Israel continues to occupy southern Syria, plays along with the centrifugal forces and regularly launches airstrikes that undermine the capabilities of the Syrian military. We call on Israeli authorities to return to compliance with the provisions of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement and respect relevant UN Security Council resolutions, including the Council's latest decision, Security Council Resolution 2811, which extended the mandate of the UN Disengagement Observer Force for another six months," he added. "One should not confuse the political wisdom and strategic restraint of Damascus with weakness. There could be a last straw that breaks the camel's back."