Guterres: The Position of the United Nations is Stable and Known

New York– Syria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari, met today in New York with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and informed him of the position of the Syrian Arab Republic rejecting and denouncing the statements made by US President Donald Trump, in which he expressed his intention the recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan.

Mr. Al- Jaafari confirmed that the US administration has no right or mandate to decide the fate of the occupied Syrian Golan and that any American action involving aggression against the right of the Syrian Arab Republic to regain and exercise its sovereignty over this occupied territory is illegal and has no effect and it is a breach of the obligations of the United States of America to the provisions of the Charter and the principles of international law.

 In this context, Mr. Al-Jaafari pointed out that the United Nations has affirmed through various relevant General Assembly resolutions and Security Council resolution 497 of 1981 that the Golan is occupied Syrian territory and that any measures taken by the Israeli occupation authorities on these occupied territories are null and void and have no legal effect.

Mr. Al- Jaafari asked the Secretary-General to issue an unequivocal position confirming the firm position of the UN on the issue of the Israeli occupation of the Syrian Arab Golan, stressing that the Syrian people are united today and more than ever to reject the American position and to confront the Israeli occupation by all means possible adopted by international law and international legitimacy.

For his part, the Secretary-General of the United Nations affirmed that the position of the United Nations and his position, personally, is fixed and known and based on the resolutions of international legitimacy, which explicitly stated that the Golan is Syrian land occupied by “Israel”.

Mr. Guterres said that despite his professional policy based on not commenting on any statements published through social media, the seriousness of the position issued by the US president prompted him to ask the spokesman of the United Nations Secretariat to issue a statement confirming that the position of the United Nations is fixed and the Golan is Syrian Arab land occupied by “Israel” in confirmation of the resolutions of international legitimacy, in particular UN Security Council resolution 497, issued in 1981, stressing in this regard that the statements of his spokesman represents his position as Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Sharif Al –Khatib

Editor-in-Chief