- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Lavrov: US Aggression Against Syria Delays Formation of Broad Anti-Terror Front

© Sputnik / Mikhail Voskresenskiy / Go to the mediabankAftermath of a US missile strike at an airbase in Syria
Aftermath of a US missile strike at an airbase in Syria - Sputnik International
Subscribe
The US aggression against Syria undermines chances to create a broad anti-terror coalition, the Russian foreign minister said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — This month's US missile strike on a Syrian military airfield delays the prospects of forming a broad anti-terrorist front, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at an international security conference Wednesday.

"The recent US missile attack on the airbase in Syria, which has become a flagrant violation of international law and an act of aggression against a sovereign state… exacerbates existing problems, detracts from the prospects of forming a broad anti-terrorist front," Lavrov said.

On April 7, the United States launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian military airfield in Ash Sha’irat. US President Donald Trump said that the attack was a response to the alleged chemical weapon use in Syria's Idlib province on April 4, which resulted in the death of over 80 people, an incident which Washington blames on the Syrian government.

In this image from video provided by the U.S. Navy, the guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) launches a tomahawk land attack missile in the Mediterranean Sea, Friday, April 7, 2017. - Sputnik International
US Missile Strike Against Syrian Airbase Posed Threat to Russian Servicemen
The Syrian foreign minister denied the government’s involvement in the Idlib incident, saying it had never nor would it ever use chemical weapons on either civilians or terrorists operating in the country.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on April 5 that the airstrike near Khan Shaykhun by the Syrian air force hit a terrorist warehouse that stored chemical weapons slated for delivery to Iraq, and called on the UN Security Council to launch a proper investigation into the incident.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on April 6 that groundless accusations in the chemical weapons incident in Syria's Idlib were unacceptable before the investigation into the matter had been carried out while Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday criticized the US missile attack as a violation of the international law.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described the US missile strike against the Syrian airfield as a strategic mistake.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during press conference on December 13, 2016 - Sputnik International
'Today There are No More Rules' – Lavrov Laments Breakdown of Int'l Order
The US missile attack claimed the lives of 10 people, an officer of the Syrian Armed Forces told Sputnik. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the attack left two Syrian servicemen missing, four killed, and six suffering severe injuries from the fire. Homs Governor Talal Barazi said on April 7 that at least two civilians from a nearby village and five Syrian servicemen were killed.

After the missile attack, the Russian Defense Ministry suspended a point-to-point communications link with the US military under the memorandum of understanding on de-confliction in Syria.

The ministry said the Russian air group in Syria was protected by S-400 and Pantsir-S1 air defense systems on a round-the-clock basis.

In an exclusive interview with Fox Business on April 12, US President Donald Trump blamed the current situation in Syria on Moscow's support for country's Assad, calling the Syrian leader "an animal."

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала