- ‘Such actions will not be left without consequences’
Russia, the Syrian regime’s top ally, reacted strongly to the air strikes launched by the United States and its allies on Damascus and Homs early Saturday, warning of “consequences.”
The U.S., U.K. and France launched a series of strikes on three locations identified as critical to Syria‘s production of chemical weapons, including a scientific research center in Damascus, and a production facility and storage facility in Homs, according to U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford.
The Russian embassy in U.S. wasted no time in reacting to the strikes late Friday in the U.S., with Ambassador Anatoly Antonov saying on Twitter, “The worst apprehensions have come true. Our warnings have been left unheard.”
“A pre-designed scenario is being implemented,” the statement continued. “Again, we are being threatened. We warned that such actions will not be left without consequences.”
Statement by the Ambassador Antonov on the strikes on #Syria: A pre-designed scenario is being implemented. Again, we are being threatened. We warned that such actions will not be left without consequences. All responsibility for them rests with Washington, London and Paris.
Russia has long been an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Syria serves as an important access point to the Mediterranean Sea for Russian ships and a hub for Russia in the Middle East. They have also supplied Assad with the military resources necessary to fight back against the rebels who nearly overthrew him in 2011.
President Donald Trump criticized Russia in his address to the country following the launch of missiles on Friday night.
“In 2013, President [Vladimir] Putin and his government promised the world that they would guarantee the elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons,” Trump said. “Assad’s recent attack, and today’s response, are the direct result of Russia’s failure to keep that promise.”
Putin responded to Saturday’s attack by calling the strikes “an act of aggression against a sovereign state that is at the forefront of the fight against terrorism.”
“The current escalation of the situation around Syria has a devastating impact on the whole system of international relations,” Putin said. “History will put everything in its place, and it has already laid heavy responsibility on Washington for bloody reprisals against Yugoslavia, Iraq and Libya.”
Putin also called for an emergency meeting U.N. Security Council.
ABC: Good Morning America
