US did not support recent Israeli strikes on Syria, State Dept says

By Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States did not support recent Israeli strikes on Syria, the State Department said on Thursday, adding that Washington made clear its displeasure after tensions escalated and worked quickly to stop it.

On Wednesday, Israel launched airstrikes in Damascus, while also hitting government forces in the south, demanding they withdraw and saying Israel aimed to protect Syrian Druze - part of a small but influential minority that also has followers in Lebanon and Israel.

"Regarding Israel's intervention and activity ... the United States did not support recent Israeli strikes," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters at a regular news briefing.

"We are engaging diplomatically with Israel and Syria at the highest levels, both to address the present crisis and reach a lasting agreement between the two sovereign states."

Bruce declined to say whether Washington supports Israel carrying out such military operations when it deems necessary.

"I won't speak to future conversations or past ones. What we're dealing with now is this particular episode, what was required, and I think we've been very clear about our displeasure, certainly that the President has, and we've worked very quickly to have it stopped," she said.

She added that the United States condemns violence in Syria and said Washington was actively engaging all constituencies in Syria to navigate toward calm and continued discussions on integration and called on the Syrian government to lead the path forward.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Additional reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Leslie Adler and Diane Craft)