MOSCOW, December 18. /TASS/. Syria and a number of other Middle Eastern countries are faced with a threat of losing statehood, Oleg Ozerov, Russia’s ambassador to Moldova and co-chair of the Hakimov Club discussion platform has said.
"We have seen that Syria is now on the verge of disappearing as a state. Not just because there has been a regime change. There is uncertainty about the future of that country as such," he said. Ozerov compared the current events in the region to what happened in the early 20th century, when "the Middle East was split into zones of influence," primarily between Britain and France.
"The impression is that this is just the beginning of a larger process. We have seen Israel expanding its borders and seizing new territories adjacent to the Golan Heights, which it calls a buffer zone," Ozerov noted, pointing out that according to UN Security Council resolutions, those lands belong to the Syrians.
He pointed to the uncertainty in southern Lebanon.
"There is a risk that not only Syria may lose its statehood. The same may happen to other countries in the region, which are now in a very fragile state," Ozerov remarked. "The question arises which states, including those in the Middle East, will be able to survive and to retain their statehood, sovereignty and territorial integrity."
In late November, armed opposition groups launched a large-scale offensive against Syrian army positions. On December 8, they entered Damascus. President Bashar Assad resigned and left the country. On December 10, Mohammed al-Bashir, who led the so-called Salvation Government in Idlib province, announced his appointment as interim prime minister. The transitional period will last until March 1, 2025.