The Russian Foreign Ministry said today that the Lebanese Shia group "Hezbollah" it still remains organized and its chain of command has not been broken despite strikes by Israel, which Moscow says is trying to ignite an armed conflict throughout the Middle East, Reuters reported.
At the same time, Moscow ruled out the possibility of peace in Ukraine if the neighboring country joins NATO, the agency added, referring to the statements of the spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Maria Zakharova.
"According to our assessment of the situation, "Hezbollah", including its military wing, has not lost the link in its chain of command and is demonstrating organization," Zakharova stated.
She added that the countries of the West, and in particular the United States and Great Britain, are fueling the conflict in the Middle East and showing hypocrisy with their support for Israel, which leads to a significant number of casualties among civilians in Lebanon.
Russia also criticized Israel for striking Syrian territory. "Once again, Israel grossly violated the inviolability of Syria by carrying out a missile attack on a multi-story residential building in a densely populated area of Damascus," Zakharova said.
"It is outrageous that such actions have become a literally daily practice applied in Syria, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip," she added, pointing out that this shows Israel"s desire to expand the geography of the escalation of armed actions in the region".
Furthermore, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said that achieving a just peace in Ukraine is impossible if Kiev loses its neutrality and joins a US-led military bloc such as NATO, Reuters reported.
She pointed out that the "special military operation" of Moscow in Ukraine is a response to NATO's eastward expansion.
"The West forgets that one of the main reasons for the beginning of the conflict was its obsessive desire to draw Ukraine into the alliance in order to turn it into a springboard for confrontation with Russia," Zakharova also said, quoted by TASS.