Moscow strongly condemns the unprecedented attack on Lebanon and its citizens, expresses solidarity with the families of the victims and wishes for the recovery of the victims, said the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova, in connection with a massive cyber attack in Lebanon, which resulted in a series of pager detonations.
“We strongly condemn the unprecedented attack against the friendly country of Lebanon and its citizens, which constitutes a serious violation of its sovereignty and a grave challenge to international law using non-conventional weapons. We express our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to the injured.” — he pointed out, commenting on the situation.
As the diplomat stressed, the Russian side “considers what happened as another act of a hybrid war against Lebanon, which has caused suffering to thousands of innocent people.”
“It appears that the organizers of this high-tech attack deliberately sought to incite a large-scale armed confrontation, seeking to provoke a major war in the Middle East,” – Zakharova noted.
The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry noted that in the context of growing tensions on the border between Lebanon and Israel, such irresponsible actions are fraught with extremely dangerous consequences, as they provoke a new round of escalation.
“A thorough investigation into this crime is needed and all those responsible must be brought to justice so that another act of terrorism is not ‘swept under the carpet’, as Western countries are trying to do with the investigation into the North Stream gas pipeline explosions,” – says the comment.
“We call on all parties involved to show restraint and refrain from taking steps that threaten further destabilization of the political-military situation in the Middle East region.” — the diplomat summed up.
As reported, a series of explosions of wireless communication devices (pagers) occurred in several areas of Lebanon on 17 September. According to the information received, at least 11 people, including two children, were killed as a result of the explosions. More than 3,000 people were injured, of which about 400 are in serious condition.
Lebanese authorities have accused Israel of organizing a large-scale attack and announced that they are preparing to file a complaint with the UN Security Council. Lebanese Hezbollah has also accused Israel of carrying out a criminal attack, acknowledged the deaths of at least nine of its fighters and promised retaliation.
