Russia: US Syria Attack a Show of Force, Reminiscent of Military Intervention in Iraq

Local Editor

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday that the US attack in Syria is nothing else than a show of force.

The decision to attack Syria was made ahead of Idlib chemical incident, used as a pretext for this demonstration of strength.

The US missile strikes on Syria airfield is a clear act of aggression against sovereign Syria, the Russia Foreign Ministry said.

It is obvious that the US missile attack in Syria was prepared "in advance," the Russian Foreign Ministry stated.

"It is clear that the decision to conduct the strike [in Syria] was made in Washington before the incident in Idlib, which was used as a pretext for this demonstration of strength," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry added that the US missile attack on the al-Shayrat airfield in Syria further degrades Russian-US relations.

"The actions taken today by the US further destroy Russian-US relations," the ministry said in a statement.

The United States launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian military airfield in al-Shayrat 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.

"Without bothering to figure anything out, the US moved toward a demonstration of strength, to military resistance against a country that is fighting international terrorism," the ministry said.

Also on Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the US latest missile attack on a Syrian airfield is reminiscent of its military intervention in Iraq 14 years ago.

"It is reminiscent of the situation in 2003, when the US, the United Kingdom with its few allies invaded Iraq without Security Council approval, in gross violation of international law," Lavrov said in Uzbekistan.

He underscored that the late Thursday attack that killed seven people, according to the Homs governor, was an "act of aggression under an absolutely false pretext."

The United States did not bother to provide evidence of this week's chemical weapons attack in Syria's Idlib ahead of launching missiles at its military airfield, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"Now they did not even bother to provide any facts, referring only to photographs and again speculating on the photos of children, and of course on the testimony of various non-governmental organizations... to provoke actions against the Syrian government," the Russian FM said.

However, Russia will demand the eventual disclosure of truth behind the United States' decision to attack a Syrian military airfield, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized.

"I do not know when we will happen to learn the whole truth on how decisions were made to attack Syria in this situation, but I think that of course the truth must be demanded, and we will do this," he said.

The deadly US missile strike on a Syrian airfield was an attempt to distract attention from the terrorist group known commonly as the al-Nusra Front, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov believes.

"The strikes were delivered without waiting for an inspection visit, without waiting for an investigation. It seems that they wanted to divert attention from the same Jabhat al-Nusra," Lavrov said.

He expressed an opinion that the group "continues to be seen as a reserve unit in order to move from negotiations to regime change."

Russia hopes the latest US missile attack on a Syrian military airfield does not lead to irreversible results, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted.

"All this causes damage to the already undermined relations between Russia and the United States, but I hope these provocations will not lead to irreversible results," the minister said.

Russia will draw conclusions toward the future of its relations with the US following the deadly missile strike on a Syrian airfield, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters.

Lavrov, speaking in Uzbekistan, accused Obama-era "functionaries" of forecasting a breakdown in Russian-US cooperation in the wake of the late Thursday strikes.
"I hope that they will be put to shame, although of course we will draw our own conclusions for our future relations," he said.

On Thursday night, the United States launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian military airfield in al-Shayrat, located about 40 kilometers [25 miles] from the city of Homs. US President Donald Trump said the attack was a response to the alleged chemical weapon use in Syria's Idlib on Tuesday, which Washington blames on the Syrian government.

According to Homs Governor Talal Barazi, the attack killed five people and injured seven others.

On Tuesday, an alleged chemical weapon attack in Syria's Idlib province claimed the lives of some 80 people and inflicted harm on an additional 200 civilians.

The Syrian National Coalition of Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, that reported the attack, as well as a number of Western states, blamed the Syrian government troops for the attack, while Damascus had refuted these allegations, with a Syrian army source telling Sputnik that the army did not possess chemical weapons.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team