WARFARE Trump Leads Condemnation Over Syria Gas Attack
US president says there will be ‘big price to pay’ for alleged eastern Ghouta attack
Donald Trump has led international condemnation of an alleged chemical weapons attack by the Syrian government, raising prospects of an American response to the assault that has killed at least 48 people in the rebel-held town of Douma. The US president singled out Russian president Vladimir Putin in a tweet on Sunday, saying he held Russia and Iran, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s backers, responsible for the atrocity. He slammed the “Animal Assad” and warned there would be a “big price to pay” for the attack. Republican lawmakers urged Mr Trump to turn his words into action. Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican foreign policy hawk, said a soft response from Mr Trump would damage his credibility. “If he doesn’t follow through and live up to that tweet, he’s going to look weak in the eyes of Russia and Iran,” he warned. Relations between Washington and Moscow are fraught after the Trump administration last Friday imposed sanctions against 24 prominent Russians and more than a dozen Russian companies. The EU said on Sunday that it “condemns in the strongest terms the use of chemical weapons” and urged for an “immediate response by the international community... to make sure that those responsible are held accountable.” Brussels also pressed Russia and Iran “to use their influence to prevent any further attack and ensure the cessation of hostilities and deescalation of violence”. An emergency meeting of the UN Security Council was scheduled for Monday in response to a joint request by the US and several allies following the allegations about the Douma attack.