Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
May and Trump agree over Syria
THERESA May and Donald Trump have agreed that the deployment of chemical weapons in Syria must not go unchallenged.
This comes after after the Prime Minister won the backing of her Cabinet for action to prevent their further use.
The two leaders also said there was a need “to deter the further use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime”, as they pledged to work together on the international response to the suspected chemical weapons attack.
Meanwhile, Russia has been granted a request for the United Nations Security Council to meet today for fresh discussions on Syria.
Following a two-hour emergency cabinet meeting yesterday, Downing Street said ministers had agreed it was “highly likely” Syrian President Bashar Assad was responsible for the attack on Saturday on the rebel-held town of Douma which reportedly left dozens dead.
In a statement issued following the meeting, it said there had been agreement around the cabinet table that such actions should not go “unchallenged” and that the UK would continue to work with the US and France to coordinate an international response.
Mrs May and President Trump spoke hours after this meeting and reiterated that the use of chemical weapons should not go unchallenged.
The US president was also due to hold further talks with French president Emmanuel Macron, after a meeting of his national security team ended without a “final decision” on how to respond.
The largest US air and naval strike force since the 2003 Iraq war was said to be heading towards Syria, paving the way for strikes within the next three days.
Reports by US media said President Trump was considering striking eight targets, including airfields, a research centre and a chemical weapons facility.
The statement released by Downing Street after the Cabinet meeting made no direct reference to military action, but will be seen as a signal Britain would be prepared to join any US-led air strikes should the Americans decide to go ahead — putting it on a potential collision course with Assad’s backer, Russia.
Earlier, President Trump appeared to row back from a suggestion on Wednesday that missile strikes were imminent, insisting in his latest tweet that he had never set out a timetable for military action.