Vladimir Putin Says Trust Between Russia-US Has Declined After Donald Trump Became President
Russian President Vladimir Putin finally shared his thoughts on Donald Trump’s decision to attack Syria after Assad reportedly used chemical weapons to attack his own people. According to President Putin, President Trump’s decision to attack Syria with 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles is not something that they should take lightly. Mr. Putin also added in his interview that the military relations between Russia and the United States have deteriorated since Donald Trump took the office.
Pres. Trump says the United States is "not going into Syria." https://t.co/9jKeLd7IvD pic.twitter.com/9ERGYltYhj
— ABC News (@ABC) April 11, 2017
During Putin’s recent interview, when he was asked to comment on Moscow’s relationship with Washington since Trump became America’s president, the Russian leader stated that the trust between these two countries has declined in the past three months.
As reported by Reuters, when President Putin was asked about accusations that Syria’s government illegally used chemical weapons, which killed 89 people including children, the Russian leader stated that Syria had already given up its chemical weapon stocks.
Putin further stated that according to him, there were two possible explanations for the unfortunate incident happened in Idlib province: It was a complete set-up designed to give Syrian government a bad name in front of the other developed countries, or the Syrian government had hit chemical weapons stored by the rebels.
The health minister in Turkey, who treated the victims from the recent attack, confirmed that the result from the multiple autopsies proves that sarin gas was used, reported the Independent.
In response to Russia’s disdain towards Donald Trump’s decision to attack Syria, the White House accused Russia of covering up the Syrian government’s role in the recent chemical weapons attack. A four-page official report presented by the National Security Council contains declassified United States intelligence on the recent attack that killed many children.
“The Syrian regime maintains the capability and intent to use chemical weapons against the opposition to prevent the loss of territory deemed critical to its survival. We assess that Damascus launched this chemical attack in response to an opposition offensive in northern Hamah Province that threatened key infrastructure. Senior regime military leaders were probably involved in planning the attack.”
The long dossier also urges the international condemnation of Syria’s use of chemical weapons and harshly criticizes Russia for becoming an ally of the country that killed innocent children by using chemical weapons.
“Moscow has since claimed that the release of chemicals was caused by a regime airstrike on a terrorist ammunition depot in the eastern suburbs of Khan Shaykhun. However, a Syrian military source told Russian state media on April 4 that regime forces had not carried out any airstrike in Khan Shaykhun, contradicting Russia’s claim.
“An open source video also shows where we believe that chemical munition landed — not on a facility filled with weapons, but in the middle of a street in the northern section of Khan Shaykhun. Commercial satellite imagery of that site from April 6, after the allegation, shows a crated in the road that corresponds to the open source video.”
Meanwhile, there are many American allies in the Middle East who have openly welcomed President Trump’s decision to strike Syria in order to help their region.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel fully supports President Trump’s decision to help Damascus.
“Israel fully and unequivocally supports the president’s decision and hopes the clear message will reverberate not only in Damascus but also in Tehran, Pyongyang and other places,” he said.
There are a lot of legal experts who have also shared their opinion on Donald Trump’s action.
In Syria and Nigeria, Trump faces the limits of American power, @Max_Fisher writes https://t.co/QZ3m31kZ5K pic.twitter.com/KG1dSB8D0z
— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 12, 2017
“The use of chemical weapons against civilians is horrific, but the fact is that President Trump’s military action violates the constitution and US treaty obligations under the UN charter,” said Hina Shamsi, the director of the National Security Project at the American Civil Liberties Union. “There’s no legitimate domestic or international law basis for it, and it’s telling that the administration hasn’t even tried to provide one.”
[Featured Image by Ma Ping/Pool/Getty Images]
