Putin troops at ‘chemical attack site’
RUSSIAN troops were last night on their way to the site of Saturday’s suspected chemical attack to help secure the area, the Kremlin announced.
Vladimir Putin’s military police were sent to Douma as chemical weapons inspectors carried out tests on the site.
It was not immediately clear why it was necessary to send Russian soldiers to the area.
A Kremlin spokesman insisted care should be taken not to aggravate the situation in Syria.
‘We do not participate in Twitter diplomacy,’ said Dmitry Peskov, referring to Donald Trump’s use of the social network. ‘We support serious approaches. We continue to believe that it is important not to take steps that could harm an already fragile situation.’
Russia’s foreign ministry spokesman responded to Mr Trump’s tweets by saying ‘smart missiles should fly towards terrorists, not lawful government’.
Moscow was in direct contact with the US joint chiefs of staff about the situation in Syria, Vladimir Shamanov, head of the lower house of parliament’s defence committee, said.
Yevgeny Serebrennikov, the first deputy chairman of the Russian upper house’s defence committee, told Russian media that the Kremlin’s troops in Syria were being protected.
He said: ‘The Russian military bases in Hmeymim and Tartus are under firm protection.
‘At the same time, we expect that in the event of US strikes, if any, the lives of our servicemen will not be in danger.
‘I think that the United States understands this and will not allow it, because otherwise, Russia’s response will be immediate.’
Mr Putin spoke to Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu and urged him to do nothing to destabilise Syria, the Kremlin said. Syria, Iran and Russia say Israel was behind an air strike on a Syrian airbase on Sunday that killed seven Iranian military personnel, something Israel has neither confirmed nor denied.
In the telephone call, Mr Putin said it was important to maintain Syria’s sovereignty, according to a statement on the Kremlin’s website.
Russian envoy to the UN Security Council, Vasily Nebenzya said on Tuesday night: ‘US threats against Syria should make all of us seriously worried as we could find ourselves on the threshold of tragic events. We are asking the US to refrain from the plans they are currently developing for Syria.’
Syrian government forces are on high alert as they brace themselves for a military assault on their bases. Troops have been taking precautionary measures at military positions across the country and stepping up security amid fears of an attack.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that as of Monday night, troops have been on a 72-hour alert and were fortifying their positions.