7 April 2017, 05:40 GMT
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The latest US missile strikes on a military airfield in Syria is an attempt to divide the Arab republic in half, deputy chairman of the Russian lower house of parliament's defense committee Yury Shvytkin told Sputnik.
"Today's events indicate that the US is wary of the obvious successes of the primarily Syrian and Russian coalition. I think you can also see an attempt to partition Syria here," Shvytkin said Thursday.
The US launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian military airfield in Ash Sha'irat near Homs late Thursday. Trump said the attack was a response to the alleged chemical weapon use in Idlib on Tuesday, which Washington blames on Damascus.
"The policy of double standards is once again applied by the US," Shvytkin reiterated.
