Russia concern at Israeli ‘air strike’ on Syria

MOSCOW - Russia has expressed concern at an alleged Israeli attack on Syria, saying such a strike would be an unacceptable violation of the UN Charter.Syria’s army said Israeli jets had targeted a military research centre north-west of Damascus on Wednesday.It denied reports that lorries carrying weapons bound for Lebanon were hit.Russia has steadfastly refused to denounce Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the 22-month conflict that has killed more than 60,000 people.The Syrian army statement, carried on state media, said Israeli fighter jets had carried out a direct strike on a scientific research centre in Jamraya, killing two people and injuring five.The Russian Foreign Ministry said: “If this information is confirmed, then we are dealing with unprovoked attacks on targets on the territory of a sovereign country, which blatantly violates the UN Charter and is unacceptable, no matter the motives to justify it.” Relations between Russia and Israel have been improving in recent years as trade and economic ties have grown stronger, says the BBC’s Steve Rosenberg in Moscow.But Moscow is a close ally of President Assad, which would explains its concern at the reports, our correspondent adds.The attack came as Israel voiced fears that Syrian missiles and chemical weapons could fall into the hands of militants such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah.Israel and the US have declined to comment on the reported incident. Lebanese security sources, Western diplomats and Syrian rebels say a the target was an arms convoy near Lebanon’s border.The Lebanese military and internal security forces have not confirmed the reports, but say there has been increased activity by Israeli warplanes over Lebanon in the past week, and particularly in recent hours.For its part, Hezbollah said the target was the Jamraya centre, condemning it as “an attempt to thwart Arab military capabilities”.BBC Middle East correspondent Wyre Davies says that while none of the reports can be verified, some well-placed diplomats and military sources say they would not be surprised if Israel had acted, given the recent instability in Syria. The Syrian army statement said the Jamraya centre - which was focused on “raising our level of resistance and self-defence” - was damaged in the attack along with an adjacent building and a car park.It said “armed terrorist gangs”, a term the government uses to describe rebel groups, had tried and failed repeatedly to capture the same facility in recent months.