French MP Warns Paris Against Praising US Strikes in Syria Destabilizing World

France should refrain from applauding the United States for its missile strikes in Syria, as the move will have far-reaching consequences for global stability and security, Jacques Myard, a member of the French Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, said Friday in a statement obtained by Sputnik.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Thursday night, the United States launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian military airfield in Ash Sha’irat, located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the city of Homs. US President Donald Trump said the attack was a response to the alleged chemical weapon use in Syria's Idlib on Tuesday, which Washington blames on the Syrian government.

A number of states, including Australia, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Kingdom have already expressed their support for the attack, while Russia called the US actions in Syria an aggression against a sovereign state based on an unjustified reason.

Following the missile strikes, which killed seven people, according to the Homs governor, French President Francois Hollande in a joint statement with German Chancellor Angela Merkel placed the blame for the latest developments in Syria solely on its president Bashar Assad. The French leader added in the statement that the US strikes were what Paris had been asking for in 2013 after the country’s previous chemical attack.

"It is in the interest of France, while condemning the use of chemical weapons, to open our eyes and to stop applauding frantically the American strikes, because the world has just crossed a dangerous threshold for its stability," Myard who is a member of The Republicans party said.

The lawmaker also stressed that the US missile strike brings about concerns regarding the country’s apparent disregard for international law.

"The United States intervenes [in Syria] in violation of the international law, to which observance France constantly appeals, as only the Security Council can authorize such actions, " Myard stated adding that Trump’s recent move symbolizes a return to the unilateral actions’ policy defended by former US President George Bush. "Obviously, the United States still considers itself the international sheriff," he added.

Myard underlined that unsubstantiated use of chemical weapons in Syria’s Idlib province should not serve as a pretext for bypassing the international law and intervening militarily.

He also drew comparisons between the strike and the US-led invasion of Iraq, which was instigated by allegations that Baghdad had weapons of mass destruction, claims which later turned out to be unfounded.

"An experience that we had in Syria or Iraq has amply demonstrated that unfortunately there are many manipulations and acts of misinformation on the part of all belligerents," Myard said in the statement, "we all remember the speech made by US Secretary of State Colin Powell at the UN Security Council on February 5, 2003 and the falsified evidence he used to justify the US intervention in Iraq."

The Syrian Armed Forces General Staff strongly condemned the attack as a violation of the international law and an act of aggression.