“The threat to international peace and security is a violation of the UN charter. We’re very concerned with the situation, with this dangerous escalation. We hope that there will be no point of no return, that the US and their allies will refrain from military action against the sovereign state,” Russia’s envoy to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, told reporters on Thursday.

The “immediate priority” for the UN must be “to avert the danger of war,” the diplomat stressed, stating that since Russian troops are deployed in Syria, the conflict can easily spill out of the country in case of any foreign attack. The second most important thing is to ensure the work of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) specialists, who are expected to embark on their fact-finding mission on Saturday.

“You understand that the danger of escalation is higher than simply Syria, because our military are there on the invitation of the Syrian government, so the situation is very dangerous,” Nebenzia said.

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