MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The United States launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian military airfield in Ash Sha'irat near Homs late Thursday. US President Donald Trump said the attack was a response to the alleged chemical weapon use in Idlib on Tuesday, which Washington blames on Damascus.
“What happened on April 7 also damages Russian-US ties. Considering its importance for the global security, the missile strike created new challenges on the way to strengthening peace and cooperation,” Matvienko said, as quoted by the Federation Council.
Earlier on Friday Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin considers the latest US missile strikes on an airfield in Syria cause significant damage to fragile bilateral relations.
Valentina Matvienko did not rule out Friday that the US missile strike on Syria's airbase was carried out to divert attention from the coalition’s actions in Iraq’s Mosul.
"Washington is well aware that the Syrian army has no chemical weapons, they were completely destroyed in strict accordance with the reached agreements and under international control," Matvienko told reporters.
"A conclusion appears that the missile strike was an action designed to divert attention from the actions of the aircraft of the US and its allies in Mosul, which killed hundreds of civilians," she said.
