MOSCOW, December 11. /TASS/. The Israeli leadership does not conceal its involvement in the recent events in Syria and explicitly acknowledges it, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during a briefing.
"The Israeli leadership speaks openly about its role in these events. Of course, I repeat, there are additional factors, but this is a directly and publicly stated position of the Israeli leadership regarding its involvement in the events in Syria. They don’t even attempt to hide it," the diplomat said.
According to Zakharova, the United States has also exacerbated the situation in Syria, deliberately imposing sanctions against the country and its people for many years.
"And now [the US] claims that the events are somehow linked to people’s discontent with the social and economic situation. It was the United States who largely created this social and economic situation in the first place," the spokeswoman emphasized.
Zakharova pointed out that, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Washington did not consider it humane to ease the anti-Syrian sanctions, even at a time when all other normal countries helped each other and should do so in such situations.
"Even at that moment, the United States was focused on how to toughen its stance toward Syria and Syrians, precisely in order to influence the situation," the diplomat said.
In late November, opposition militias launched a large-scale offensive on Syrian army positions. On December 8, they entered Damascus, and the government forces withdrew from the city. The Prime Minister of Syria expressed his readiness to carry out a peaceful transition of power.