Israeli soldiers during training in the Golan Heights on Nov. 9, 2023. (Credit: AFP)
Syria on Tuesday slammed the decision to recognise Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights by the new hard-right government of Colombia, which became only the second country to do so after the US.
Syria "expresses its categorical rejection and condemnation of this position and affirms that the Golan is an inseparable part of its territory," a foreign ministry statement said a day after Colombia announced the move.
Israel captured most of the Golan from Syria in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and later annexed the areas under its control, in a move not recognised by most of the international community.
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella took power on Friday following a bombastic campaign during which he promised tight relations with the United States and Israel as a way to combat armed groups in his own country.
"Colombia recognises that maintaining Israel's control and sovereignty over the Golan Heights is an essential component of its national defence," the foreign ministry said.
Syria called Colombia's announcement "a flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations," recent statements by UN chief Antonio Guterres, and a UN Security Council resolution.
Visiting Syria last month, Guterres said that "violations of Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity are unacceptable," adding: "I'd like to remind the international community that the Golan Heights are Syrian territory."
De la Espriella's leftist predecessor Gustavo Petro had ardently criticised Israel's offensive in Gaza, severing diplomatic relations and halting Israeli arms imports into Colombia.
The US-backed millionaire now in office has promised to restore ties.
After the December 2024 overthrow of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, Israel sent troops into the UN-patrolled buffer zone that had separated Israeli and Syrian forces in the Israeli-occupied Golan since 1974.
It has also carried out strikes and repeated incursions into southern Syria, where it seeks an expanded demilitarised zone.
