here shortly. first, the un security council meeting last week and rush's .iscuss -- request to discuss it actually, this meeting was held today at rush's request -- at russia's request. >> mr. president, excellencies, the situation in the middle east is in chaos. to such an extent it has become a threat to international peace and security. different is facing faultlines crossing each other in creating a volatile situation , fragmentation, and division as far as the eye can see with profound regional and global ramifications. we see the multiplicity of it. the first is the memory of the

cold war my to be precise. it is more than a simple memory. the cold war is back with a vengeance. second, the palestinian, israeli divides. the divide, evidence from the mediterranean. they are normally the results of manipulations. people, a wide range of from opposing attitudes or the status of the kurds, or dramatic threats to communities left in the region.

the multiplicity of divides is reflected in the multiplicity of conflicts. with different degrees of interconnection, several of them clearly linked to the threat of global terrorism. many forms of escalation are possible. walls of the palestinian conflict dipping again. the recent actions in gaza have related to needless deaths and injuries. i requested transparent investigation into these incidents. the urgency of realization and the peace process, that you allow palestinians and israelis allow two democratic states

side-by-side, and within recognized borders. i reaffirm the united nations readiness to support this effort. yemen, we are witnessing the worst humanitarian disaster in today's world. only one best way to ending the conflict and addressing the crisis. settlement included in the yemen dialogue. martin is doing everything possible to participate -- facilitate that and brace the council next week. in libya, i encourage all parties to work with my special representative as he engages in the political process with a across the of people country, to implement u.n. action plan. it is high time to end the libyan conflict.

that progresstes is possible with local, regional, and global commitments. after overcoming the risk of fragmentation, the government of iraq must now focus on reconstruction, reconciliation, and reforms. i hope the upcoming elections will consolidate these progresses. the international community reaffirmed its support for lebanon stability and state security institutions. it is absolutely essential to avoid the new conflict that could inevitably be resolved and more victims and more destruction than the last war. this is of critical importance to act on commitments of lebanon improving security council resolutions and the policy of

the associations. dangers of the links to the syrian conflict are evidence, and in the recent confrontations of iran and israel in syria. representsnt, syria the most serious threats to international peace and security. we see confrontations of proxy wars involving several national armies, a number of armed opposition groups, many militia, foreign fighters from everywhere in the world, and various terrorist organizations during from the beginning. haveom the beginning, we seen a violations of international law and human law in utter disregard of the spirit of the united nations charters. for eight long years, the people of syria and do it suffering

upon suffering. write there is no military solution to the conflict. the solution must be political information in the security council and in line with the consistent efforts of my special envoy. throughhave lived atrocity crimes, starvation, attacks against civilians and infrastructure, news of chemical weapons, forced this placement, sexual violence. torture, detention, and others. the list goes on. hope, theent of security council adopts this resolution, demanding all seeses, without delay, those actions -- sees those

actions. -- sease those actions. i write my strong condemnation of the use of chemical weapons by any party of the conflict under any circumstances. , a clearis apparent violation of international law. the seriousness of the recent allegations, requires a thorough investigation using impartial, independent, and professional expertise. in this regard, i reaffirm my full support for the for thetion organization of removing chemical weapons. the fact-finding missions they

would do would be granted without restrictions or impediments to performance activities and i take note that the syrian government has commits tot and facilitate to it. we need to go further. quote, my deep i disappointment that the security council, upon a dedicated mechanism, for a responsibility on chemical weapons in syria. i want to repeat today that the norms against chemical weapons must be upheld. as i wrote in the same letters, ensuringte, accountability for a from use of chemical weapons is our

not the victims of such attacks. a lack of accountability emboldens those who use the weapons by providing them with the reassurance of impunity. this further weakened the norm and use of chemical weapons, and the international disarmament as a whole. i urge all members to act responsibly in this dangerous circumstance. i appeal to the security council to fulfill its duties and not give up on efforts to agree upon the dedicated, impartial, objective, and independent mechanism for taking responsibility with the regards of use of chemical weapons. i stand ready to support such efforts. tensions and the inability to reach a compromise in the establishment of mechanisms,ty

threatens to lead to a full-blown military escalation. video, with the permanent members of the security council, i have been reiterating my concerns about the risks of the current impasse and stressed the need to avoid the situation spiraling out of control. mr. president, that is exactly the reason we face today. things spiraled out of control. it is our common duty to stop it. thank you. thank you. mr. president. to thegrateful secretary-general for a few things. your participation and your assessment and the authoritative word as to -- about the situation that have unfolded, is of great significance. we concur with you.

in the middle east, there are many wounds. but presently, what is most important, is the situation, is the largest wound is the situation around syria. and negative repercussions around global repercussions. receivedago, the world news, news flew around the world of a threat from the united states to conduct a strike public.the syrian warning to prepare for this, were also addressed to the federation. syria, at the invitation of the government, has the presence of russian troops employed to combat international terrorism. we continue to observe, dangerous, military preparations to an illegal act of force against the sovereign state. in what would constitute a

breach of international law. not only the use of force, but lies in threat of force the face of the united states charger -- charter and this is what we have seen in recent rhetoric and action by washington and its allies. the rhetoric is being sent out at all levels, including the highest, to ensure additional forces and means of the u.s. navy and that of their allies is nearing. it appears that washington has adopted a categorical policy to unleash a military scenario against syria. this cannot be tolerated. ish a development of events brought on with grave consequences of security especially of the russian military contingent upon those who are observing the dangerous

preparations and that they understand washington's motivations and are engaging in incitement, thereby, possibly becoming complicit in a possible misadventure of the security council. there are those who enjoy engaging in discussions about preventive diplomacy. for some reason, we neither see them nor hear them presently. immediately, not only prior to the investigation, but even ther to establishment of fact that the incident occurred, the guilty parties were identified. and apparently, they will have to be held accountable. and punished. , theevelopments unfavorable developments, is something for which there will of the be accountability

case of a previous intervention which has plunged many countries of -- into lengthy crisis and untold casualties. evident, recent experience of iraq in libya before us. this reflects the fact that have adopted ars largely consumerist approach to the security council. the council needs both the cover from iraq test tubes or the libyan no-fly zone. it's such a virtual entity test tube that you are placing before us right now. the reckless conduct of the u.s., and in an encroachment of of anal law, is unworthy permanent status of the un security council. it is unworthy for a permanent

member of the united nations security council. this status is the highest degree of responsibility. and not the right to favor battle which is absent in international law. to plungeu seeking the middle east into such difficulties provoking one conflict after another. picking one state against another. benefit from a potential strike against syrian troops who bear the main burden and theying terrorism have achieved major victories in this regard. we understand fully well that the heads of the armed groups have received instruction to following a potential act of force. is the latest chaos truly being unleased for the sake of that? the pretext is that the alleged

use of chemical substances in the syrian city of duma, there is no credible confirmation of this. tracescialists found no of toxic substance use. know ofdents of duma no such attack. all the information has been provided by the antigovernment groups. we have justification to believe , and we even have information to believe that what took place is the provocation and participation of certain countries intelligence services. we warned about this long ago. scenarion echo of the lasttook place last us -- april. the syrian government which will needs all -- which is the last to need all of this, announced

it has nothing to do with this and deliver the request for urgent conduct of the area of the less incident by the opcw forces. jointly, with the russian troops, they provided security and safety guarantees. the mission is already undertaking work in syria. we trust that it will be able to deliver on a genuinely independent and impartial investigation. hassecurity council alone the authority on the international stage to take decisions on what measures can be taken against whom in syria. russia, continues to work robustly and fully to deescalate the tensions that have recently arisen in international relations. we have proposed something be adopted. it was irresponsibly mocked by the u.k. and france.

thereby, these countries have no interest in an investigation. the sole thing they have an interest in is to oust the syrian government and more broadly, to deter, contain the russian federation. this has been clearly seen and other international and domestic which aresubjects based on mystification's and conspiracy theories at the heart of which each time you on baselessly placed the russian federation. what are you trying to achieve following the lengthy difficulties and clashes in syria, the large part of the country has been stabilized. the political process is now afloat. indicators of national reconciliation are coming to the floor. there has been a significant blow dealt to terrorists. we are never denied that you was well made a certain contribution to achievement of this common

objective. certain types of terrorists have always been sheltered by u2, the regime. and for you to advance your geopolitical priorities in the region. our british colleague consul he asks us, what is russia doing to see to the implementation of the security council policy. like country is almost the only party to be doing this. over the course of the existence of the process, more than 2000 -- 2000 500 residential areas saw peace brought to them as a result of our efforts. this is not meeting they became victims of the regime. they have established a normal relationship with the normal -- with the central facilities in damascus.

what was conducted of you and support was a dialogue of congress. how many cities, how many towns have you introduce peace to? how many groups have you persuaded to join cease-fire agreements in order to break the deadlock in a string gouda? negotiations were held. the members of the families of the fighters were able to be evacuated from that area. civilians finally gained an opportunity to cleanse themselves of many years of terrorism and rid themselves of such terrorism. look at their unbounded joy. but for somexists, reason your media outputs are not showing it. you have no concern for the fate of the hostages of fighters in

eastern go to -- eastern go to. it seems, they are arguing with authorities for an exchange hostages and said a held 2000 and 4000 people. it is becoming clear that number is far lower. to harshed due treatment and difficult labor with digging enormous tunnels for their torturers. fact that your bearded pilgrims were sent for a free of charge tourist excursion into syria. you have an opportunity each time to cry about hundreds of thousands of people in the besieged eastern go to. now they need to be helped in

restoring normal living conditions that you are no longer interested in this. that is because now that territory is under government control. now it will be necessary to engage in an inconvenient discussion is. when the last humanitarian convoy reached the area, when did you even looking? it will be necessary to respond and he held accountable. president, there is a dangerous development of events which is fraught with far-reaching ramifications for global security. there is full responsibility in this case will fall to the united states and their allies. it is most unfortunate that old europe continues to lose faith.

the leadership of these states immediately to reconsider and to return to the legalational leaguer -- fold. it is necessary to urgently seek in equitable cooperation with all partners to resolve the problems which arise through dialogue. we steadfastly have focused on a peaceful settlement to the conflict on syria and we shall continue our proactive efforts to this end. we call upon all to follow suit. all of our partners to follow suit. thank you. >> that security council meeting from today after a chemical attack in syria over the weekend. president trump made an announcement at the white house a short time ago. he said that airstrikes are underway in syria and we expect to hear from the pentagon and about 30 minutes at 10 p.m. eastern time. first, here are the president's