By NNN-KUNA,
United Nations : Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described last Sunday’s US raid on Syrian soil near the Iraqi border as “unintended, unwanted, not desirable, and an obstacle” to peace process, adding that the situation in that region is “very, very important”.
Ban told a press conference on Friday in India in answer to a question about the US raid that “the situation in the Middle East and particularly in that region is a very, very important one …. In that regard, any unintended or unwanted situation taking place is not desirable”.
“There has been an encouraging development of the situation in that region. Now we should really nurture this very fragile political process. We should really keep this encouraging development of the situation and keep the momentum sustained,” he said in reference to the Syrian Lebanese relations.
He urged all the parties in the region to be very much conscious of the “fragility of this process”.
“The recent announcement by the Syrian and Lebanese Governments to normalize their diplomatic relations, including the delineation of the border and demarcation issues and also the indirect talks with the Israel and ongoing dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians — those are all very important developments of the situation, which are encouraging and positive. We must help this process continue without any obstacles,” he said.
“I would really appeal to all the countries in the region to nurture this process,” he urged.
It was the first time that Ban reacted to the raid after Syria sent him, as well as to the Security Council President, a letter asking them to assume their responsibility to prevent the reoccurrence of such raid.
The council is not reacting, claiming Syria did not ask the members to do anything specific.