New York, June 10 (SANA)UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, said on Wednesday that any escalation of the conflict in the region casts a shadow over Syria. After 13 years of violence, the Syrian people are finally beginning to find their way to peace.”

“Members of the Security Council witnessed this firsthand during their visit to Damascus six months ago, where they saw what this transitional phase requires to succeed, from inclusivity and the rule of law to transitional justice, dialogue among social groups, and reconstruction,” Guterres, speaking at aSecurity Councilsession on Syria, said.

He added that support for the UN’s role and strengthening its presence in Syria will enable international community to achieve these goals as united nations. Consolidating peace in Syria requires respect for its sovereignty and territorial integrity. We cannot allow the progress achieved to be jeopardized by further use of force or by increased instability in the region.”

For his part,Pakistan‘s representative to the Security Council Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said that Syria, with its new leadership and strong decisions, is leading the country towards stability.

Meanwhile, Panama’s representative to the Security Council affirmed that it is important that “we continue to support Syrian state institutions.”

“We call on Israel to respect territorial sovereignty, including the provisions of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement between Syria and Israel, and to comply with relevant UN Security Council resolutions,” Russia’s representative to the Security Council said.

For his part, Britain’s representative to the Security Council added “We have witnessed significant progress in Syria towards reconstruction and stability, and we express our concern regarding Israeli incursions into southern Syria that undermine this progress.”

China’s representative to the Security Council stressed that the Golan is recognized as occupied Syrian territory, and Israel must withdraw from it as soon as possible.

The United States representative to the Security Council said that his country recognizes Syria’s move towards a new period in its history, its integration into the international community, its fight against terrorism and drug trafficking, and its elimination of chemical weapons, and we reaffirm our commitment to lasting peace there.

Saudi Arabia’s Permanent Representative said “We strongly condemn Israel’s repeated incursions and attacks on Syrian territory,” describing them as a flagrant violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, a breach of the UN Charter and international law, and a threat to Syria’s security and stability as well as to peace and security in the region.The Saudi envoy called on Israel to abide by the 1974 Disengagement Agreement.“We call for an immediate and unconditional withdrawal from Syrian territories recently infiltrated, as well as from the occupied Syrian Golan,” he added.