Suspending Syria Air Safety MOU to Let Russia React Timely on US Threats

Suspending the memorandum of understanding on air safety over Syria with Washington will allow Russia to respond to various threats, including the ones to its units in Syria, in a more timely manner, deputy chairman of the Russian lower house of parliament's defense committee Yury Shvytkin told Sputnik.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow decided to suspend the memorandum, following the US strikes on the Syrian military airfield in Homs province.

"This decision is completely logical… The suspension of the memorandum will now allow [Russia] to timely respond to various threats, including those to our airfields and units there," Shvytkin said.

According to the lawmaker, Russia could not do anything to prevent the latest attack as it was acting in compliance with the memorandum.

The Syrian airfield was struck by 59 Tomahawk missiles launched from the destroyers USS Porter and USS Ross in the Eastern Mediterranean on Thursday night.

The Syrian armed forces said that at least six people were killed and serious damages were inflicted on the airfield.

The memorandum of understanding on air safety over Syria between the armed forces of Russia and the United States has been effective since October 2015. The two sides have held regular talks on compliance with the MOU. The last such teleconference took place on March 24.