Russia has condemned the U.S.-led strike on Syria, which was backed by the UK and France, as an “act of aggression against a sovereign state.” Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, warned that there would be consequences for the Syria strikes, which has led to growing fears of World War 3, reports Express .
Antonov also claims in the statement that the United States has the largest arsenal of chemical weapons and thus has no moral ground to condemn other nations, according to Reuters .
Following the Syria strikes, fears are growing of a military escalation from Russia that could lead to World War 3. Despite President Trump’s criticism of Putin, the United States made it clear that they were not targeting Russia in the strikes.
Gen. James Dunford, chairman of the U.S. joint chiefs, said that the military targeted areas that will mitigate the risk of Russian forces being involved in the attack, CNN reported.
Russia said in a statement that there will be consequences for the strikes, with Iran making a similar warning of “regional consequences.”
President Trump questioned why Iran and Russia would want to be associated with a nation that uses chemical weapons on its civilians. Russia asked for the U.S. to provide proof that Assad’s government is responsible for the attack.
According to The Guardian , the White House said with “very high confidence” the Assad regime was responsible for chemical attacks in Douma.
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. pic.twitter.com/QEmWEffUzx
— Russian Embassy in USA ?? (@RusEmbUSA) April 14, 2018
The publication reports that Russia claimed that British Special Intelligence staged the chemical attack as a pretext to launch a military assault on Syria. The UK hit back by calling the accusation a “blatant lie,” further escalating fears of WW3.
JUST IN: President Trump tweets about the strike on Syria saying there “could not have had a better result. Mission Accomplished!” https://t.co/iOaONV0wMf pic.twitter.com/XMCWjVKTjn
— CNN (@CNN) April 14, 2018
France, the UK, and the U.S. all say that proof has been found while Moscow claims that there is no evidence of a chemical attack.
If your reason for supporting the air strikes in Syria is “but World War 3 hasn’t started yet,” that isn’t a very solid reason.
— Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) April 14, 2018
The United Nation inspectors have demanded access to witnesses to draw blood samples and take photographs to determine whether there was a chemical attack.
UPDATE: EU warns Syria of further sanctions and calls on Russia and Iran to help stop chemical weapons attacks by the Syrian government https://t.co/AMHbPvbhId
— Al Jazeera Breaking News (@AJENews) April 14, 2018
Chemical weapons were banned after WW1 due to their devastating effects. While the legality of chemical weapons used in Syria is unclear, it is considered a red line for many UN nations. The Syrian government has been accused of using chemical weapons in the past in the form of sarin gas.
