From the UN minutes, at:
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/gadis3345.doc.htm Emphasis added
Also speaking in the right of reply, the representative of Syria said that the delegation of Israel had spoken out of context yesterday. Israel had used lies and accusations, which was not useful since the entire world was aware of the objectives and practices of that “colonial” entity, which encouraged State terrorism and had never respected the resolutions adopted against it by the United Nations. There had been politically motivated acts by Israel against Syria, and, at the same time, Israel had tried to distract attention from its actions, in particular, its interference in the internal affairs of Lebanon.
Concerning the Lebanese border, he said that the Lebanese Minister of Defence had denied that anything had crossed the border, and those controlling the border had confirmed that. Syria had informed the Secretary-General of that in writing. Contacts between Lebanese and Syrian authorities had been ongoing to protect the border, and the countries had regularly reported to the Security Council on their meetings. Syria had also recently increased the number of guards on its border, preventing any transfer of weapons from Iraq or any other countries. In a letter dated 4 May, Syria had reported on that. It had also asked Europe for help in securing its border, but had not received any such assistance.
The accusations by Israel, therefore, were totally unjustified. Israel was an “enemy entity” occupying Syrian territory. Israel regularly filmed trucks carrying fruits and vegetables into the country, and had recently bombed one of them. Israel was building eight reactors in a small territory and preparing itself “in nuclear terms” for a possible war, with 20 nuclear warheads, using thousands of cluster bombs, and not providing maps to show where they were dropped or where the nuclear waste was being disposed of. It was an entity that claimed that Gaza was trying to occupy areas, when it was itself occupying territory.
Moreover, Israel was the fourth largest exporter of weapons of mass destruction and a violator of other nations’ airspace, and it had taken action against nuclear facilities, including the 6 July attack in Syria. He vowed that whenever a right of reply was exercised, Syria would expose the underlying goals of the Zionist entity.
Oops. He just complained about Israel attacking their *nuclear* facilities. Facilities which the Syrian government has been claiming were simply unused and empty buildings that Israel attacked unprovoked.
And to be fair, Syria has already denied their confirmation.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h44iqu-AVtbml4EBgaBy7kkKduGQD8SAUQIO0Syria Denies Report on Nuclear Strike
By ALBERT AJI – 9 hours ago
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria denied on Wednesday reports that one of its representatives to the United Nations said that a nuclear facility was hit last month by Israeli warplanes, and added that "such facilities do not exist in Syria," the state-run news agency said.
The Syrian Arab News Agency, SANA, quoting a Foreign Ministry source, said that Syria had made it clear in the past that there are no such facilities in Syria.
On Tuesday, a U.N. press release sent after a meeting of the First Committee, Disarmament and International Security, in New York paraphrased an unnamed Syrian representative as saying that a nuclear facility was hit.
The U.N. release, which were minutes of the meeting, paraphrased the Syrian representative as saying that Israel was the fourth largest exporter of weapons of mass destruction and a violator of other nations' airspace. It said paraphrased the representative as saying that Israel had taken action against nuclear facilities, including one in Syria on July 6.
It was on Sept. 6, however, that Israeli warplanes carried out an airstrike in northeastern Syria near the border with Turkey. The target remains unknown but widespread reports say it may have been a nascent nuclear facility, a claim Syria has denied.
President Bashar Assad said earlier this month that the target was an "unused military building."
The Syrian news agency on Wednesday said the press release misquoted the Syrian diplomat.
"A Foreign Ministry official source denies reports by some media organizations," that the representative in New York said Israel carried a raid on a nuclear facility, SANA said.
"Such facilities do not exist in Syria and this is what Syria has already explicitly clarified," SANA said.
A full transcript of the meeting in New York was not immediately available.
Israeli radio stations, citing unidentified Israeli diplomats, earlier Wednesday had quoted the Syrians as telling the U.N. meeting that a nuclear target had been struck. However, the Israeli radio reports did not say whether the Israeli diplomats had attended the session or merely had read the U.N. press release on the meeting.
The U.N. in New York could not immediately be reached for comment on whether its press release had accurately paraphrased the Syrian official.
Which probobly means they really did say that and are just going to whine until everyone pretends they didn't.
