Russian President Vladimir Putin said the U.S. cruise missile strikes on a Syrian military field Thursday broke international law and severely damaged U.S.-Russia relations.
The missile strike targeted the al-Shayrat military airfield where the chemical weapons attack the Pentagon believes President Bashar al-Assad carried out is thought to have originated.
Putin’s spokesman called the action an “aggression against a sovereign nation” based on a “made-up pretext.”
“Putin views the U.S. strikes on Syria as aggression against a sovereign state in violation of the norms of international law and on a made-up up pretext,” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday. “Washington’s step will inflict major damage on U.S.-Russia ties.”
The Kremlin said Russia and Syria “enjoy a relationship of cooperation” Thursday, but that it doesn’t support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad “unconditionally.”
U.S. President Donald Trump said the missile strikes were launched “in the vital national security interest of the United States.”
“Tonight I ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in Syria from where the chemical attack was launched,” Trump said at his Mar-a-Lago estate. “It is in the vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons.”
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].