Syria calls for urgent Security Council meeting after Trump's Golan Heights recognition – reports

Syria has called for an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council concerning the Golan Heights, according to diplomats cited by AFP. The call follows Washington's recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the area.

The Syrian mission to the UN asked the Security Council to schedule an urgent meeting to “discuss the situation in the occupied Syrian Golan and the recent flagrant violation of the relevant Security Council’s resolution by a permanent member-state” in a letter seen by AFP. The French president of the Security Council has not yet scheduled such a meeting, but the request will reportedly be discussed at the council's next meeting.

The Security Council is due to convene on Wednesday to discuss the future of UN peacekeeping forces in the Golan.

International condemnation has been quick to follow US President Donald Trump’s official recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. When Trump began hinting he would issue such a proclamation on Friday, Syria asked the Security Council to uphold three existing resolutions calling on Israel to withdraw from the territory, which it has occupied since 1967 despite international law recognizing the land as Syrian.

Large protests were held in Syria on Tuesday in response to Trump’s declaration, and the Syrian Foreign Ministry denounced the US’ “blatant aggression” and “contempt for international legitimacy.”

"No one could imagine that a person in America comes and gives land of a nation to another occupying country, against international laws and conventions... Such action is unprecedented in the current century," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said.

US allies from Canada to Australia also expressed their disapproval. Even the US’ Gulf partners Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait were critical of the move, predicting “significant negative effects” on both the Israel-Palestine peace process and regional stability in general.

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