Russia Condemns US Coalition Airstrikes Without Military Reaction
After the US, the UK and France fired missiles on facilities in Syria thought to be storage and production centers for chemical weapons, Russia was quick to respond with harsh words yet no military reaction.
Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the strikes as an attack against international law, targeting the territory of a sovereign state. As stated previously, Russia’s red line would be an attack on their own troops, harming Russian citizens. As the strikes by the coalition were aimed at Syrian facilities, Russia does not consider the attack grave enough to undertake retaliatory measures.
This morning, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that over 100 missiles were fired on Syrian territory, and claimed to have shot down dozens. However, they stated later than no Russian personnel had been harmed and no missiles came close to Russian air-defense equipment, indicating that only Syrian air-defense systems shot down US coalition missiles.
All three presidents- Macron, Trump, and May -held press conferences this morning justifying the strikes as a necessary military action to stop the suffering of innocent Syrians subjected to chemical attacks.
The international community has reacted two-sidedly to the attack. While Germany and Turkey welcomed it, China and Egypt called for caution to avoid a further escalation of the conflict.
Iran, as well as Bashir al-Assad, reiterated their determination to fight illegal attacks on Syrian territory and to pursue their strategy against the terrorists in Syria.