"Never said when an attack on Syria would take place. Could be very soon or not so soon at all!" Trump stated in his latest tweet just under 24 hours since having announced his intention to launch "new and smart" missiles on Syrian targets.
He also decided to underscore the "great job" America has done "of ridding the region of ISIS" under his rule.
Never said when an attack on Syria would take place. Could be very soon or not so soon at all! In any event, the United States, under my Administration, has done a great job of ridding the region of ISIS. Where is our “Thank you America?”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 12, 2018
To attack or not to attack?
The not-so-clear message follows an exchange with Moscow the day before. A verbal tit-for-tat was also initiated by the US president on Twitter when he posted an inflammatory message calling for Russia to "get ready."
Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and “smart!” You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2018
He did, however, change his tone just about 30 minutes later and said that "we need our nations to work together," stating the relations with Moscow were worse "than during the Cold War."
Our relationship with Russia is worse now than it has ever been, and that includes the Cold War. There is no reason for this. Russia needs us to help with their economy, something that would be very easy to do, and we need all nations to work together. Stop the arms race?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2018
The Kremlin responded to the US president's twitter messages later in the day: Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that Moscow "does not support Twitter diplomacy" and called for a more serious approach, in order to avoid escalating an "already fragile situation."
Speaking about the developments in the Syrian issue later in the day, Trump vowed that decisions related to Syria would be made "fairly soon."
"We’ll see what happens… we're looking very seriously at that situation," Trump said as quoted in a White House pool report. "It’s too bad, the world puts us in a position like that."
Accusations Against Damascus
The amped-up rhetoric from Washington follows allegations by several Syrian opposition media platforms, including the infamous White Helmets group, of a chemical attack, allegedly carried out by Syrian government forces in Douma on April 7.
READ MORE: "Get Ready Russia!" Trump Threatens Attack on Syria, Moscow Strikes Back
Both Damascus and the Russian Center for Reconciliation have denied any such claims; the latter also sent inspectors to the area and issued a report saying no trace of chemical weapons use had been found. Moscow has called for an independent international investigation into the matter.
READ MORE: Soil Analysis in Douma Didn't Reveal Any Poisonous Substances — Russian MoD
In the meantime, most Western nations have denounced the alleged attack; the US has in its turn called for military action.
On Tuesday, the UN Security Council rejected a Russian resolution welcoming an investigation into the attack.
READ MORE: UN Security Council Meeting Over Syrian Crisis (VIDEO)
* Daesh — a terror group banned in numerous countries, including Russia.
