10 Nov 2024
Wednesday 19 April 2017 - 18:06
Story Code : 257896

US missile strike against Syria gives free rein to Daesh - Medvedev

Sputnik News- The US missile strike against Syria gave a free rein to Daesh, Washington is fighting Damascus instead of terrorism, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday.





He noted that the attack was not authorized bythe United Nations and was inviolation ofinternational law thus being "an act ofmilitary aggression".
"We do not know what may happen next. But I know forsure who benefited fromthis act ofaggression Daesh, because [the attack] gave them [terrorists] a free rein," Medvedev said.


"And what we see is that the new US administration's first step inthe Syrian issue was a strike againstgovernment troops. This means that this is not a fight againstterrorists buta fight againstthe Syrian leadership. Whether Americans likeit or not, butthat is a legal political power," he elaborated.

The prime minister said that further escalation ofthe Syrian conflict may lead tothe destruction ofthe state and partial victory ofterrorists.
"It is obvious that further escalation will lead tothe destruction ofthe Syrian state, its disintegration and a partial victory ofterrorists. Such a scenario contradicts our plans and Russia will work inthis direction," Medvedev said.


He described the chemical incident inSyria's Idlib province as "a well-planned provocation" fromwhich Washington might have benefited.
"Everything that has happened recently inSyria, including the military attack bythe United States, absolutely does not benefit the settlement ofthe situation. What happened inIdlib is a large and well-planned provocation fromwhich, probably, the US administration benefited." Medvedev called foran investigation and warned againststicking labels [on Bashar Assad's government].


On April 7, the United States launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles atthe Syrian military airfield inAsh Shairat. US President Donald Trump said that the attack was a response tothe alleged chemical weapon use inSyria's Idlib province onApril 4, which resulted inthe death ofover 80 people, an incident which Washington blames onthe Syrian government.

The Syrian foreign minister denied the governments involvement inthe Idlib incident, saying it had never nor would it ever use chemical weapons oneither civilians or terrorists operating inthe country.

The Russian Defense Ministry said onApril 5 that the airstrike nearKhan Shaykhun bythe Syrian air force hit a terrorist warehouse that stored chemical weapons slated fordelivery toIraq, and called onthe UN Security Council tolaunch a proper investigation intothe incident.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said onApril 6 that groundless accusations inthe chemical weapons incident inSyria's Idlib were unacceptable beforethe investigation intothe matter had been carried outwhile Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov onSaturday criticized the US missile attack asa violation ofthe international law.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described the US missile strike againstthe Syrian airfield as a strategic mistake.

The US missile attack claimed the lives of10 people, an officer ofthe Syrian Armed Forces told Sputnik. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the attack left two Syrian servicemen missing, four killed, and six suffering severe injuries fromthe fire. Homs Governor Talal Barazi said onApril 7 that atleast two civilians froma nearby village and five Syrian servicemen were killed.

After the missile attack, the Russian Defense Ministry suspended a point-to-point communications link withthe US military underthe memorandum ofunderstanding onde-confliction inSyria.

The ministry said the Russian air group inSyria was protected by S-400 and Pantsir-S1 air defense systems ona round-the-clock basis.

In an exclusive interview withFox Business on April 12, US President Donald Trump blamed the current situation inSyria onMoscow's support forcountry's Assad, calling the Syrian leader "an animal."

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