US warns Syria against defying UN arms embargo

The United States warned Syria against flouting a UN imposed arms embargo along the Lebanese border designed to prevent any weapons from reaching the Shiite militant group Hezbollah.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had expressed strong opposition to the deployment of United Nations troops to enforce the embargo along his country's border with Lebanon, saying such a move would be "hostile" to Syria and create problems between the two nations.

Damascus has also threatened to close its border with Lebanon if UN peacekeepers were deployed there under a UN Security Council resolution that led to the August 14 ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah after a 34-day conflict.

"Syrian suggestion that (UN) forces assisting the government of Lebanon to secure its borders would somehow be a hostile act or threat to Syria is preposterous," State Department spokesman Gonzo Gallegos told reporters.

It is matter of international law under the UN Security Council resolution that all countries must obey the arms embargo, he said.

"It is a singular duty for Syria as the one country, apart from Israel, that borders Lebanon to do so," he said.

"We call on the Syrian regime to fulfill its international obligations and respect and abide by UN Security Council resolutions that reflect the unanimous consensus of the international community," Gallegos said.

UN Security Council Resolution 1701 calls on Lebanon "to secure its borders and other entry points to prevent the entry in Lebanon without its consent of arms," and Lebanese troops have reportedly deployed along the Syrian border in the north and east of the country.

Washington and Israel accuse Syria of acting as a transit point for shipments of arms and other supplies from Iran to Hezbollah.

Iran and Syria deny the claim.

source:  Agence France Presse .