Russian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Lebanon Alexander Rudakov answered several questions EADaily.
— The attention of the world media is focused on Lebanon, where a series of explosions of mobile communications equipment occurred several days ago. And all this happened against the backdrop of an active armed conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. How difficult is the situation in the country, in your opinion?
“The situation here is really alarming and depressing. The Lebanese are seriously scared. Many details of the cyber attacks of September 17 and 18 are still shrouded in bloody mysticism, in the spirit of some kind of apocalyptic spy novel. The main version is that only pagers and walkie-talkies exploded, but information about the explosions of laptops, televisions, cars and even solar panels on the roofs of houses is circulating on social networks. All this contributes to the “ferment” of panic, which is already strong here in the context of the military confrontation with Israel that has been going on for almost a year.
It is already clear that many innocent civilians who had no connection to Hezbollah have been harmed. Thousands have been injured and dozens have been killed. Among them are women and children. The Lebanese Ministry of Health is constantly updating the data. Unfortunately, it is increasing. According to the latest information, the number of dead has reached 37 and the number of wounded has exceeded 3,000.
This tragic outcome highlights the indiscriminate nature of the attack. And if we remember that the country has been experiencing a deep socio-economic crisis for many years, then there is no doubt about the chthonic humanitarian consequences of all that is happening.
In addition, Israel has significantly increased its attacks in the south of the country. Last night, the Lebanese border region suffered one of the most intense bombardments since the beginning of the regional escalation in October last year. At the same time, direct threats against Beirut are being launched from West Jerusalem, including promises to “return Lebanon to the Stone Age.” The situation, as you can understand, has become very, very difficult.
— Did the terrorist attacks affect the work of the Russian Embassy? Is there any information about injured Russian citizens?
– Not at all. We are continuing to work as usual. As for the second question, there are no Russians among the victims. We are keeping the matter under special control and are in constant contact with the Lebanese law enforcement agencies and emergency services on this issue.
— Israel is using increasingly aggressive rhetoric towards Lebanon. There was even speculation that the communications bombings were preparations for an IDF ground operation. How do you think these cyberattacks will affect the situation in Lebanon specifically and the Middle East in general?
“Let us begin with the fact that this blatant cyber sabotage deserves absolute condemnation. The entire region is already one step away from a full-scale confrontation. On the border between Lebanon and Israel, the intensity of the fighting has been increasing in recent weeks. And this bloody gesture adds fuel to the fire and provokes Hezbollah to respond. Although, in our opinion, the Shiite movement is not interested in a “big war.” It was precisely in this alarming tone that the Secretary General of the movement, Hassan Nasrallah, spoke last night.
Let us not forget that Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon was also injured, which also increases the potential consequences.
I think that talking now about the impact of the explosions on the situation in the region is pointing the finger at the sky. So far, only one thing is clear: this series of attacks has not improved the chances of at least some kind of diplomatic solution to the Middle East crises. Exactly the opposite: the risks of an uncontrolled escalation here are now prohibitively high.
