US warns: New sanctions to follow missile attack
US/SYRIA The United States vowed yesterday to keep the pressure on Syria after the intense nighttime wave of missile strikes from US ships, despite the prospect of escalating Russian ill will that could further inflame one of the world’s most vexing conflicts.
Standing firm, the Trump administration signalled new sanctions would soon follow the missile attack, and the Pentagon was even probing whether Russia itself was involved in the chemical weapons assault that compelled President Donald Trump to action. The attack against a Syrian air base was the first US assault against the government of President Bashar al-Assad. Much of the international community rallied behind Trump’s decision to fire the cruise missiles in reaction to this week’s chemical weapons attack that killed dozens of men, women and children in Syria. But a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the strikes dealt ‘‘a significant blow’’ to relations between Moscow and Washington.
At the United Nations, Russia’s deputy ambassador, Vladimir Safronkov, strongly criticised what he called the US ‘‘flagrant violation of international law and an act of aggression’’ whose ‘‘consequences for regional and international security could be extremely serious.’’ He called the Assad government a main force against terrorism and said it deserved the presumption of innocence in the chemical weapons attack.
US officials blame Moscow for propping up Assad.
‘‘The world is waiting for the Russian government to act responsibly in Syria,’’ Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, said during an emergency Security Council session. ‘‘The world is waiting for Russia to reconsider its misplaced alliance with Bashar Assad.’’
Haley said the US was prepared to take further action in Syria but hoped it wouldn’t be necessary.
In Florida with the president, meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said: ‘‘We will be announcing additional sanctions on Syria as part of our ongoing effort to stop this type of activity and emphasise how significant we view this. We expect that those will continue to have an important effect on preventing people from doing business with them.’’
Friday’s strikes — some 60 cruise missiles fired from two ships in the Mediterranean — were the culmination of a rapid, three-day transformation for Trump, who has long opposed deeper US involvement in Syria’s civil war. Advisers said he was outraged by heartbreaking images of young children who were among the dozens killed in the chemical attack and ordered his national security team to swiftly prepare military options.
The decision undercut another campaign promise for Trump: his pledge to try to warm relations with Moscow. After months of allegations of ties between his election campaign and the Kremlin — the subject of current congressional and FBI investigations — Trump has found himself clashing with Putin.
Yesterday, senior US military officials were looking more REUTERS closely at possible Russian involvement in the poison attack. Officials said a drone belonging to either Russia or Syria was seen hovering over the site after the assault earlier this week.
The drone returned late in the day as citizens were going to a nearby hospital for treatment. Shortly afterward, officials say the hospital was targeted.
The officials, said they believe the hospital attack may have been an effort to cover up evidence of the earlier assault.
White House officials caution that Trump is not preparing to plunge the US deeper into Syria. Spokesman Sean Spicer said the missile attack sent a clear message to Assad, but he avoided explicitly calling for the Syrian to leave office.
‘‘The president believes that the Syrian government, the Assad regime, should at the minimum agree to abide by the agreements they made to not use chemical weapons,’’ Spicer said when asked if Assad should step down.
The impact of the strikes was also unclear. Despite intense international pressure, Assad has clung to power since a civil war broke out in his country six years ago, helped by financial and military support from both Russia and Iran. Russian military personnel and aircraft are embedded with Syria’s, and Iranian troops and paramilitary forces are also on the ground helping Assad fight the array of opposition groups hoping to topple him.
Trump spent yesterday in Florida, in private meetings with visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping. US officials noted that the timing of the strike had the possible added benefit of signalling to China that Trump is willing to make good on his threat to act alone to stop North Korea’s nuclear pursuits if Beijing doesn’t exert more pressure on Pyongyang.
The missile strikes hit the government-controlled Shayrat air base in central Syria, where US officials say the Syrian military planes that dropped the chemicals had taken off.
The missiles targeted the base’s airstrips, hangars, control tower and ammunition areas, officials said. AP