MORE TO COME, US WARNS SYRIA
palm beach — The United States is vowing to keep up 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 on Friday 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 act. 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 in Syria. But a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the strikes dealt ‘a significant blow’ to relations between Moscow and Washington.
A key test of whether the relationship can be salvaged comes next week when Secretary of State Rex Tillerson becomes the first Trump cabinet member to visit Russia.
British foreign minister Boris Johnson also had planned to visit Russia this coming week, but decided on Saturday to cancel the trip because of the fast moving events in Syria. Johnson, who condemned Moscow’s continued defense of Assad, said Tillerson will be able to give a “clear and coordinated message to the Russians”.
At the United Nations on Friday, 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.
The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said the world is waiting for the Russian government “to act responsibly in Syria” and “to reconsider its misplaced alliance with Bashar Assad”.
Speaking during an emergency Security Council session, Haley said the US was prepared to take further action in Syria but hoped it wouldn’t be necessary.
The Saudi Press Agency reported that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, complimented Trump in a telephone conversation for his “courageous decision”. —
TEHRAN — The army chiefs of Russia and Iran discussed the US strikes in Syria by phone on Saturday, and vowed to continue the fight against “terrorists” and their supporters, Iranian media reported.
The two chiefs of staff, Major General Mohammad Bagheri and General Valery Gerasimov, “condemned the American operation against a Syrian air base which is an aggression against an independent country”, state news agency Irna said.
The US strikes “aim at slowing the victories of the Syrian army and its allies, and reinforcing terrorist groups”, they said in a statement. The two army leaders vowed to continue their military cooperation in support of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad “until the total defeat of the terrorists and those that support them”, according to the Mehr news agency.
Iran and Russia are Assad’s closest allies and label all opponents of his regime as “terrorists”.
Both governments have defended Assad against allegations that his regime carried out a suspected chemical attack on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhun. —