EU Foreign Ministers to Declare 'Understanding' of Strikes on Syria – Source

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) - Draft conclusions on the situation in Syria, which are expected to be adopted at the EU Foreign Affairs Council on Monday, will state that the union “understands” the strikes launched by the United States, the United Kingdom and France against Syria, a diplomatic source told Sputnik.

“[The draft conclusions read that] the Council understands the targeted US, French and UK airstrikes on chemical weapons facilities in Syria as specific measures having been taken with the sole objective to prevent further use of chemical weapons and chemical substances as weapons by the Syrian regime to kill its own people,” the source said.

Earlier in the day, UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson justified Monday the last week's missile launches, adding though that the attacks weren't aimed at removing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Last Saturday, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom launched strikes on a number of targets in Syria in response to an alleged chemical attack in the Damascus suburb of Douma.

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 defenses.

The attack came the same day that the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) mission was set to start the probe into the alleged chemical weapons attack in Douma, which the West had immediately blamed on Damascus.

READ MORE: Trump Still Wants US Forces in Syria to Come Home As Soon As Possible

Following the accusations, the Syrian government has strongly denied being behind the alleged attack and stated that the missile strike was "brutal aggression."