Venezuelan President Calls West's Strike on Syria 'Criminal Act'

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has called the latest West's missile strike on Syria a "criminal act."

According to Maduro, those "dogs of war" who need weapons and engaged in fighting for enrichment at the expense of those killed, are responsible for this missile strike.

"We say that this attack is a criminal act against the people of Syria, which was carried out with the aim to create panic and terrorism and destroy the scientific centers of the country," Maduro said in a televised statement.

READ MORE: Israel's Netanyahu Expresses 'Total Support' for Syria Strikes

On Friday night, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom launched strikes on a number of targets in Syria in response to the alleged chemical incident in the Damascus' suburb of Duma. The Western states have accused forces of President Bashar Assad of an attack with the use of chemicals in Duma. The Syrian leadership denied any involvement in the attack, and invited the experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to investigate into the reports.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the three countries fired over 100 cruise and air-to-surface missiles, most of which were shot down by Syrian air defense. According to Damascus, which has repeatedly said it had eliminated its chemical weapons stockpiles, the attack damaged Syrian infrastructure, and left three civilians injured.

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated on Saturday that the strikes had been carried out in violation of norms and principles of the international law.