Situation in Lebanon – Letter from USSR

Letter dated 15 June 1982  from the Permanent Representative of the

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to the United Nations addressed

to the Secretary-General

I have the honour to transmit to you the test of the statement by  the Soviet Government of 14 June 1982.

I  should be grateful  if you would arrange  for  this statement to be circulated as an official document of the General Assembly,  under  items 31 and 34 of the preliminary list, and of the Security Council.

(Signed)  0. TROYANOVSKY

ANNEX

Statement by the Soviet Government

Israeli aggression in Lebanon is continuing.  In spite of the cease-fire that was declared, Israeli troops are continuing to carry out military actions against 1 the Lebanese and the Palestinians.  According to reports received, preparations are being made to storm the capital of Lebanon, Beirut.

Israel is committing a criminal act of genocide in Lebanon.  Giving quarter to no one, the forces of the aggressor are in fact exterminating the Palestinians  en masse; thousands of Lebanese are also dying.  Israeli forces are attempting to  drown in blood the struggle of the Palestinian people for their freedom and independence.

The brazen lawlessness of Israel is provoking indignation in the Soviet Union and throughout the world.  Israeli aggression is clearly being carried out within the framework of the so-called "strategic co-operation between Tel Aviv and Washington.

The future of Lebanon as an independent and united State is being threatened. The plan to dismember Lebanon and deploy in the captured Lebanese territory the so-called "multinational force", the backbone of which would be American troops, is becoming increasingly apparent.

The actions of Israel and its protectors also threaten other Arab States. This is the very same policy of subjecting the Arab countries one after the other to the dictates of the imperialists.  They are counting on disunity among the Arabs and hoping that the Arabs will be unable to combine their efforts to help the next victim of aggression.

In the interests of peace in the Middle East and the broad interests of international security, there is a need for urgent and effective measures to bring about an end to the aggression, a cease-fire, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory.  This is required by the unanimous decisions of the United Nations Security Council.  They must be implemented. This is the key question

The Soviet Union, not in words but in deeds, takes the side of the Arabs and seeks to ensure that the aggressor vacate Lebanon.  Those who now make policy in Israel should not forget that the Middle East is a region situated in the immediate vicinity of the southern borders of the Soviet Union and that events there are bound to affect the interests of the USSR.  We warn Israel of this.

The War unleashed by Israel in Lebanon puts into sharp focus the question of the situation in the Middle East as a whole, which has now been turned into an even more dangerous source of international tension.

The Soviet Union demands that this brazen aggression be stopped.  The Soviet Union for its part will do everything required of it in order to ensure that a stable peace is established in that region.

14 June 1982

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