Washington
Syria ally Russia warned Friday of “consequences” following the launch of US-led strikes against Bashar al-Assad’s regime in retaliation for a suspected chemical attack. “Again, we are being threatened,” Russia’s ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, said in a statement. “We warned that such actions will not be left without consequences. All responsibility for them rests with Washington, London and Paris.”
“Insulting the President of Russia is unacceptable and inadmissible,” added the envoy, after President Donald Trump directly called out his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over his support for the Assad regime.
Russian lawmaker Vladimir Dzhabarov today said Russia was likely to call for a meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss the strikes, RIA news agency cited him as saying. “The situation is being analysed right now. Russia will demand a meeting of the UN security council, I am sure,” Dzhabarov, who is the deputy head of Russia’s foreign affairs committee, was quoted by RIA as saying.
Russia said the US, British and French air strikes on Syria are a violation of international law and are likely meant to prevent investigators from the global chemical weapons watchdog from doing their work.
The chairman of the international affairs committee of Russia’s upper house of parliament, Konstantin Kosachev, described the air strikes as a groundless attack on a sovereign government, Interfax said.
“It’s also highly likely an attempt to create complications for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons mission which was just starting its work in Syria’s Douma, or an attempt to completely derail it,” Kosachev was quoted as saying.
None of the air strikes hit zones where Russian air defence systems protect the Russian bases of Tartus and Hmeimim, Russian news agencies cited the Ministry of Defence as saying.
The Russian defence ministry said Saturday that none of the Western strikes in Syria had hit areas covered by Russia’s air defences around its air base and naval facility. “Not one of the cruise missiles released by the US and its allies entered the zone of responsibility of Russian air defences protecting facilities in Tartus and Hmeimim,” the ministry said in a statement carried by the RIA Novosti state news agency, referring to the locations of Russia’s naval facility in Tartus and its Hmeimim air base.
The joint strike by the Western forces against Syria’s government came a week after a suspected chemical attack outside the capital Damascus that left more than 40 people dead.
Western strikes early Saturday hit Syrian military bases and research centres in and around the capital and the country’s centre. The world leaders announced that the strikes targeted positions linked to the chemical weapons facilities of the Syrian government.
Moments after the announcement, loud blasts could be heard from the capital and large plumes of smoke emerged from its northern and eastern edges. Syrian state media reported the joint operation hit a research centre northeast of the capital as well as other military installations around Damascus, but said missiles targeting army depots in Homs had been intercepted.
