Russia Values The Hezbollah Group Is Still Organized Despite Israeli Attacks

Maria Zakharova (Twitter/@RussianEmbassy)

JAKARTA - Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday Lebanese militant group Hezbollah was still organized and had not lost its chain of command, despite an attack by Israel that Moscow said was trying to trigger an armed conflict in the Middle East.

"According to our assessment, Hezbollah, including its military wing, has not lost its chain of command and shows its organization," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters.

Zakharova further said that the West, particularly the United States and Britain, sparked conflict in the Middle East and showed outrage with its support for Israel which caused heavy civilian casualties in Lebanon.

It is known that Hezbollah was formed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in the early 1980s to fight Israel. This movement is also the main social, religious and political movement for Lebanese Shiite Muslims.

On the other hand, Russia also criticized Israel for its attacks on Syria.

"Once again, Israel has violated Syria's sovereignty by launching a missile attack on a multi-storey apartment building in a densely populated area of Damascus," Zakharova explained.

"This outrageous act has truly turned into a routine practice applied in Syria, Lebanon, and the Gaza Strip," Zakharova criticized, adding it showed "Israel's desire to further expand the geography of the armed escalation in the region."