Lebanon Says U.S. Golan Move Undermines Prospects for Peace
President Michel Aoun denounced from Moscow on Tuesday Washington’s recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
“Washington’s recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over Golan violates international law and the resolutions of the Security Council,” said Aoun from Moscow.
“No foreign country can act on land that it does not own,” added the President.
After meeting with Chairman of the State Duma, Aoun added: “The Arab nation is living a black day, and Trump's decision on the Golan Heights directly affects Lebanese interests.”
US President Donald Trump on Monday signed a proclamation recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights, a border area seized from Syria in 1967.
In a statement carried by the NNA state news agency, the Lebanese foreign ministry also said the move "violates all the rules of international law" and "undermines any effort to reach a just peace".
"The Golan Heights are Syrian Arab land, no decision can change this, and no country can revisit history by transferring ownership of land from one country to another," it said.
The ministry said attempts by Israel to expand its territory by way of "force and aggression" would only isolate the Jewish state.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the recognition "historic" and said the Golan Heights, which are still claimed by Syria, would remain permanently under Israeli control.
The Syrian government said Washington's recognition of Israeli claims over the Golan was a blatant attack on its sovereignty.
Russia warned of a "new wave" of tensions in the Middle East after the US Golan move.
The UN Security Council is scheduled to discuss the Golan on Wednesday during a meeting on renewing the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force deployed between Israel and Syria in the Golan, known as UNDOF.
Source: Agence France Presse, Naharnet
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