UN: Hezbollah's role in Syria feeds sectarian tension in region

Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Oscar Fernancez-Taranco, late Tuesday said Hezbollah's military role in Syria has contributed to sectarian and political tensions in the region. "Direct involvement by Hezbollah fighters inside Syria has given new momentum to the Syrian Government's military approach and contributed to sectarian and political tensions throughout the region," he told the Council in its monthly meeting to discuss the situation in the Middle East. He added that as the human tragedy in Syria continues to unfold, the whole region is feeling the reverberations with neighbours, such as Jordan and Lebanon, absorbing much of the humanitarian impact. He indicated that the current regional turmoil makes it "all the more imperative" to build on the opening created by the diplomatic push from the United States and create a positive momentum towards Israeli-Palestinian peace, which can provide a "stabilizing horizon and hope for the whole region." He said although the parties "need to re-engage in negotiations as the only way to achieve the two-state solution, there must be a substantive and well-prepared framework, as well as credible timeline in order for talks to have a chance of success." "Rushing the parties back to the table without having the necessary framework in place and buy-in from both sides would be counter-productive ... The current window of opportunity, however narrow, should not be lost," he urged. "However difficult the task, this Council and the UN at large cannot give up and cannot let a sense of collective impotence erode our sense of responsibility ... It is critical that all act responsibly and contribute to reverse the negative dynamics at play in the region," he said. On the Israeli settlement activities, he said "with disappointment" that it has increased 176 percent in the first quarter of 2013, compared to the same period of 2012, and a record of seven years. In a related matter, Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari told reporters in answer to questions that Ake Sellstrom, the Head of the investigation team to probe alleged use of chemical weapons, can go to Syria today, but to investigate the allegations in Khan Al-Assal only, as requested by Damascus a couple of months ago. He said his government will not allow the inspectors to do their job all over Syria out of concern that they will end up having the mandate of the UN Special Commission (UNSCOM), which spent years looking for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq in the nineties, but failed to find anything. He wondered why the UN did not take seriously his complaint that Turkey arrested 12 Al-Nusrah Front terrorists on their way to Syria with two big bottles of sarin gas, and that it is developing chemical weapons in Iraq, quoting Russian President Putin. He said his government is willing to attend the Geneva II Conference on Syria, and wondered why should the oppositions, which have different agendas, attend it since they get money from Gulf states, logistics from Turkey, and weapons from European countries.