Security Council Press Statement on Attack against Russian Embassy in Damascus

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Vitaly Churkin (Russian Federation):

The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms another mortar shelling on 28 October of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Damascus (Syrian Arab Republic), which caused significant material damage.

The members of the Security Council recalled the fundamental principle of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises, and the obligations on host Governments, including under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, to take all appropriate steps to protect diplomatic and consular premises against any intrusion or damage, and to prevent any disturbance of the peace of these missions or impairment of their dignity, and to prevent any attack on diplomatic premises, agents and consular officers.