٠٠:٠٣:٥٨Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called the deadly pager explosions in Lebanon a ‘monstrous act of terrorism’, speaking on the sidelines of Eurasian Women's Forum in St Petersburg on Wednesday.
"We sincerely, with deep understanding of all the pain the Lebanese people have just suffered, express our sympathy. This is a monstrous act of terrorism. It is monstrous in its cynicism, in its scale: there have been a large number of casualties, there have been fatalities. It certainly requires investigation, so that the perpetrators and those who were behind them and ordered this crime are identified and punished," the diplomat said.
Zakharova believes that this crime is an obvious 'attempt to ignite a major conflict' in the Middle East.
"We see how the region is literally being pushed towards a big large-scale confrontation, any opportunity is being used to push people who have been trying for decades to find a way out of very complex historical contradictions towards a clash. Therefore, the international community must now do a lot to prevent such a scenario," the Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.
In addition, Zakharova said she was awaiting the reaction of the 'Collective West'.
"For many years, for decades, we have been living in the paradigm of the Western 'mainstream' with regard to human rights, the protection of children and civilians. The West was ready to do anything, even violate sovereignty and interfere in internal affairs, just to protect human rights. Now, there’s been a terrorist attack that violated human rights and took lives and injured many people, including women and children. Let’s see what the West’s reaction will be," she added.
According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, nine people were confirmed dead, and around 2,750 others injured – including 200 in critical condition – following mass pager explosions across Lebanon earlier on Tuesday.
The Hezbollah group called it a 'criminal aggression' by Israel, confirming that the devices belonged to "employees of various Hezbollah units and institutions", and said that it would get 'retribution'.
Israel has not commented on the blasts at time of publication. US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller claimed Washington was 'not involved' and 'not aware' in advance.
Israeli forces have engaged in long-running cross-border shelling with Hezbollah, and various Lebanese and Palestinian factions, which escalated in October 2023, with the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.
'Monstrous act of terrorism' - Russian FM spox Zakharova on Lebanon deadly pager blasts
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called the deadly pager explosions in Lebanon a ‘monstrous act of terrorism’, speaking on the sidelines of Eurasian Women's Forum in St Petersburg on Wednesday.
"We sincerely, with deep understanding of all the pain the Lebanese people have just suffered, express our sympathy. This is a monstrous act of terrorism. It is monstrous in its cynicism, in its scale: there have been a large number of casualties, there have been fatalities. It certainly requires investigation, so that the perpetrators and those who were behind them and ordered this crime are identified and punished," the diplomat said.
Zakharova believes that this crime is an obvious 'attempt to ignite a major conflict' in the Middle East.
"We see how the region is literally being pushed towards a big large-scale confrontation, any opportunity is being used to push people who have been trying for decades to find a way out of very complex historical contradictions towards a clash. Therefore, the international community must now do a lot to prevent such a scenario," the Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.
In addition, Zakharova said she was awaiting the reaction of the 'Collective West'.
"For many years, for decades, we have been living in the paradigm of the Western 'mainstream' with regard to human rights, the protection of children and civilians. The West was ready to do anything, even violate sovereignty and interfere in internal affairs, just to protect human rights. Now, there’s been a terrorist attack that violated human rights and took lives and injured many people, including women and children. Let’s see what the West’s reaction will be," she added.
According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, nine people were confirmed dead, and around 2,750 others injured – including 200 in critical condition – following mass pager explosions across Lebanon earlier on Tuesday.
The Hezbollah group called it a 'criminal aggression' by Israel, confirming that the devices belonged to "employees of various Hezbollah units and institutions", and said that it would get 'retribution'.
Israel has not commented on the blasts at time of publication. US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller claimed Washington was 'not involved' and 'not aware' in advance.
Israeli forces have engaged in long-running cross-border shelling with Hezbollah, and various Lebanese and Palestinian factions, which escalated in October 2023, with the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called the deadly pager explosions in Lebanon a ‘monstrous act of terrorism’, speaking on the sidelines of Eurasian Women's Forum in St Petersburg on Wednesday.
"We sincerely, with deep understanding of all the pain the Lebanese people have just suffered, express our sympathy. This is a monstrous act of terrorism. It is monstrous in its cynicism, in its scale: there have been a large number of casualties, there have been fatalities. It certainly requires investigation, so that the perpetrators and those who were behind them and ordered this crime are identified and punished," the diplomat said.
Zakharova believes that this crime is an obvious 'attempt to ignite a major conflict' in the Middle East.
"We see how the region is literally being pushed towards a big large-scale confrontation, any opportunity is being used to push people who have been trying for decades to find a way out of very complex historical contradictions towards a clash. Therefore, the international community must now do a lot to prevent such a scenario," the Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.
In addition, Zakharova said she was awaiting the reaction of the 'Collective West'.
"For many years, for decades, we have been living in the paradigm of the Western 'mainstream' with regard to human rights, the protection of children and civilians. The West was ready to do anything, even violate sovereignty and interfere in internal affairs, just to protect human rights. Now, there’s been a terrorist attack that violated human rights and took lives and injured many people, including women and children. Let’s see what the West’s reaction will be," she added.
According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, nine people were confirmed dead, and around 2,750 others injured – including 200 in critical condition – following mass pager explosions across Lebanon earlier on Tuesday.
The Hezbollah group called it a 'criminal aggression' by Israel, confirming that the devices belonged to "employees of various Hezbollah units and institutions", and said that it would get 'retribution'.
Israel has not commented on the blasts at time of publication. US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller claimed Washington was 'not involved' and 'not aware' in advance.
Israeli forces have engaged in long-running cross-border shelling with Hezbollah, and various Lebanese and Palestinian factions, which escalated in October 2023, with the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.