Putin: Further Western Strikes Contrary To Int’l Law Will Lead To Chaos
Russia has vowed to retaliate if Syria’s sovereignty violated
Sputnik - April 15, 2018
Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone conversation with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani discussed the situation in Syria after a massive missile strike was conducted by the US, Britain and France against the country.
Putin and his Iranian counterpart agreed that the US-led illegal airstrike on Syria seriously damages the prospects for a political settlement in the country.
“Vladimir Putin, in particular, stressed that if such actions, carried out in violation of the UN Charter, continue, it will inevitably lead to chaos in international relations,” the press service of the Kremlin said.
In a phone conversation that took place on the initiative of the Iranian side, the two presidents also discussed general situation in the Middle East region, including the situation in Yemen.
Putin and Rouhani expressed interest in the further development of the Russian-Iranian cooperation and expansion of mutually beneficial relations in trade and economic sphere.
Early on Saturday, US President Donald Trump announced the military action in Syria in response to the alleged chemical weapons attack in the city of Douma in the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta. As a result, Washington and its allies – France and the United Kingdom — fired missiles on the Syrian facilities, which they claimed were linked with chemical weapons production.
US to impose sanctions on Russia in wake of Syrian chemical attack
By Julia Manchester - 04/15/18
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (U.N.) Nikki Haley announced on Sunday the U.S. would impose new sanctions on Russia following the deadly suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria last week.
"Russia sanctions will be coming down. [Treasury] Secretary [Steven] Mnuchin will be announcing those on Monday if he hasn't already, and they will be going directly to any sort of companies that were dealing with equipment related to [Syrian leader Bashar] Assad and chemical weapons use," Haley told CBS News's Margaret Brennan on "Face the Nation."
"So I think everyone is going to be feeling it at this point. I think everyone knows that we sent a strong message, and our hope is that they listen to us," she said.
The sanctions are designed to hit Russia for its support for the Assad government after last week's apparent chemical attack on Syrian civilians.
Assad and Russia have denied involvement in the attack.
The U.S., along with France and the U.K., launched over 100 missiles at three targets in Syria on Friday in response to the attack.
Russia, in turn, proposed a draft resolution in the U.N. Security Council aimed at condemning “the aggression against the Syrian Arab Republic by the U.S. and its allies in violation of international law and the U.N. Charter.”
The U.N. Security Council on Saturday voted against the proposal.
