Moscow Warns Washington Against Conducting Strike Against Syria

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov commented on the situation in Eastern Ghouta.
Russia has called on the United States to abandon its unconditional plans for a strike against the Syrian government forces and Damascus, Sergei Ryabkov stated, answering the journalist’s question.

“We’ve warned and warned the US that these plans must be unconditionally refused. Any such unlawful use of force, similar to what happened almost a year ago at the Shairat air base, would be an act of aggression against a sovereign state, as defined by the relevant article of the UN Charter,” he said.

Sergei Ryabkov believes that if the situation in Syria and, in particular, Eastern Ghouta changes for the better, opponents to a peaceful resolution to the conflict could incite the international community by sabotaging this process, possibly by using chemical weapons.

“The situation in Eastern Ghouta has changed radically for the better,” Sergei Ryabkov told reporters on Tuesday.

He drew attention to the fact that tens of thousands of people had already left the danger zone. “All this, of course, infuriates, in the truest sense of the word, the opponents of the government in Damascus; they are looking for new pretexts for attacks on us and on Syria,” Ryabkov said.

“In this situation, of course, any provocations are possible, and we need to be prepared. Provocations could include staging the use of chemical weapons by government troops,” Ryabkov said.

Staged ‘chemical attacks’ will continue in Syria as Syrian troops advance, he added.
Earlier, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said that the US was prepared to act on the use of chemical weapons in Syria. According to him, the United States struck at the Shairat airbase, after a chemical attack in Syria’s Khan Sheikhoun on April 4, 2017, as the UN Security Council “was unable to take action.”
Sputnik