Sanctions threat for Russia in wake of air attack

Johnson warns Putin to abandon Syria’s Assad

SENIOR RUSSIAN military officers involved in co-ordinating Syrian president Bashar Assad’s ruthless campaign of repression against his own people could face international sanctions, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has warned.

Arriving for talks with G7 foreign ministers in Lucca in Italy, Mr Johnson issued a fresh appeal to Russian president Vladimir Putin to abandon his backing for his Syrian ally following last week’s chemical weapons attack on a rebel-held town.

He said if the Russians continued to support the regime in Damascus, they would be “contaminated” by its actions and could find themselves the target of new sanctions.

“We will be discussing the possibility of further sanctions certainly on some of the Syrian military figures and indeed on some of the Russian military figures who have been involved in co-ordinating the Syrian military efforts and are thereby contaminated by the appalling behaviour of the Assad regime,” Mr Johnson told reporters.

The Foreign Secretary said US President Donald Trump’s decision to launch cruise missiles against a Syrian air base in response to the regime’s use of sarin nerve agent had “changed the game” and the Russians had to decide which side they were on.

“They have a choice. That choice is to stick like glue to the Assad regime – that toxic regime which poisons its own people and is indeed poisoning the reputation of Russia – or to work with the rest of world to find a political solution,” he said.

Mr Johnson defended his decision to pull out of talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, saying that it was important US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had the “clearest possible mandate” when he went to Moscow to deliver the response of the G7.

Earlier, Downing Street re-iterated the Government’s support for the US missile strike while calling for a renewed diplomatic push to end Syria’s six-year civil war.

However, Prime Minister Theresa May’s official spokesman refused to be drawn on whether the UK would support further US military action, saying it was a “hypothetical question”.

Amid the heightened international tensions, Downing Street called on all sides to work to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

“What we are focused on is building international support for a political solution to end the conflict and bring lasting peace and stability to Syria,” Mrs May’s spokesman said.