Military escalation threatens safety of Syrians: Egypt

Egypt has voiced deep concern over the current military escalation in Syria, saying it threatens agreements on creating de-escalation zones in the war-torn country and the safety of the Syrian people.

In a statement on Saturday, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry expressed its solidarity with the Syrian people in order to live a safe and stable life and to preserve their national capabilities and territorial integrity through a comprehensive political consensus for all Syrian political bodies.

The ministry further said it was opposed to the use of any internationally prohibited weapons against Syria, demanding a transparent international investigation into a recent chemical assault in accordance with the international mechanisms and references.

The statement called on the international community to seek a peaceful solution to the crisis in Syria away from polarization and to help in ensuring the humanitarian access to those who were trapped and affected by the recent US-led airstrikes.

‘Diplomacy sole way to resolve Syria crisis’

Meanwhile, Jordan on Saturday said only a political solution would guarantee the stability and the territorial integrity of the Arab country.

"Continued violence will only lead to more violence, conflict, fighting and displacement whose victim is the Syrian people," Jordanian government spokesman, Mohammad al-Momani, who is also minister of state for media affairs and communications, said in a statement carried by state-news agency Petra on Saturday.

The statements came following joint airstrikes by the armed forces of the United States, Britain and France on the Arab country, which occurred one week after a suspected chemical weapons assault hit the town of Douma near Damascus.

Western countries blamed the incident on the Syrian government, but Damascus rejected the accusations as “chemical fabrications” made by the terrorists themselves in a bid to halt advances by pro-government forces.

Syria's Foreign Ministry strongly condemned Saturday's strikes as a "brutal, barbaric aggression," saying they would only ignite "tensions in the world and pose threat to the international peace and security as a whole."

The United Nations Security Council will meet at 11:00 a.m. (1500 GMT) on Saturday at Russia’s request in the wake of the strikes, which involved more than 100 missiles.

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Saturday that Moscow was in touch with the United States and other countries that took part in missile strikes on Syria.

In an interview with the Russian Kommersant daily on Saturday, Ryabkov also said that Moscow was interested in cooperation with Washington over Syria.

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