The UN chief both warned against and hoped for the development in Syria since Bashar al-Assad's regime was overthrown.
The Middle East is overwhelmed by many fires, but today there is a flame of hope in Syria, and that flame must not be extinguished, said Guterres, and continued:
The people of Syria stand at a historic crossroads and are in a moment of opportunities – these opportunities must not be lost.
Guterres also criticized Israel for violating Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity through airstrikes, and said that "this must come to an end".
He also directed criticism at Israel's military intrusion into the buffer zone at the border with Syria that the Israeli military has occupied.
Let me be clear: there should be no military personnel in the area that separates (the countries) except for the UN peacekeeping soldiers.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was the chairman when the Security Council met on Thursday. Blinken chose to barely mention the conflicts in either Ukraine and the Russian invasion war there, or in the Middle East where the US is one of the key players. The meetings in the Security Council may be the last for Blinken as Secretary of State.
