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Kremlin says strike on Syria raises risk of direct collision between US and Russia
Kremlin: Risk of US-Russia collision in Syria 'significantly increased'
Story highlights
- Russia is a major backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
- Kremlin officials denounced the US strike, warned it may lead to repercussions
(CNN)Russian
President Vladimir Putin has denounced the US strike against a Syrian
government airbase as "aggression against a sovereign state in violation
of the norms of international law."
The
Russian Defense Ministry said Friday that it plans to bolster and
increase the effectiveness of the air defense system in Syria following
the attack.
"In order to protect
the most sensitive objects of the Syrian infrastructure, a system of
measures to bolster and increase the effectiveness of the Syrian armed
forces' air defense systems will be implemented," ministry spokesman
Igor Konashenkov said in a statement carried on state media.
Russia
earlier announced it would suspend an October 2015 agreement aimed at
minimizing risks of in-flight incidents between Russian and
US-led-coalition aircraft.
The
risk of a direct collision between the US and Russia in Syria had
"significantly increased" since the US missile strike, Kremlin spokesman
Dmitry Peskov said.
In
a regular call with reporters, Peskov added that it was "indisputable"
that the US airstrike on Syria "was carried out for the benefit of ISIS
and other terrorist organizations."
US President Donald Trump ordered the strike against the airbase from which a chemical weapons attack was launched earlier this week, US officials said.
In an earlier statement, the Kremlin said Syria "has no chemical weapons," pointing to reports by UN inspectors.
"Vladimir
Putin believes that complete disregard for factual information about
the use by terrorists of chemical weapons drastically aggravates the
situation," it said in a statement.
"This move by Washington has dealt a serious blow to Russian-US relations, which are already in a poor state."
The
Kremlin added that Putin sees the latest US military action as "an
attempt to distract from the mounting civilian casualties in Iraq."
Russia
is Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's most powerful ally and has
provided the military might behind his continuing grip on the country,
which plunged into civil war six years ago.
No deal
The
strike dashed any hopes for a US-Russia anti-terror coalition in Syria,
Russian Senator Konstantin Kosachev, who heads the Federation Council's
international affairs committee, said.
"And it started so well, what a shame," he wrote Friday on Facebook.
"In
one way or another, Russian cruise missiles continue to strike
terrorists, and American ones strike government forces which, in fact,
lead the war against terrorists."
He
continued: "I'm afraid that given such an approach, the desired
Russian-American anti-terrorist coalition in Syria, so often talked
about since Trump rose to power, will repose in the Lord before it has
the chance to be born."
Russian
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Friday that Russia
would suspend the 2015 agreement aimed at minimizing risks of in-flight
incidents.
"US actions further
destroy Russia-US relations," she added. "If earlier it was explained
using the need to fight against terrorism, now it's an obvious act of
aggression against the sovereign state of Syria."
The
airstrikes "are an immensely dangerous episode in the relationship
between Russia and the United States, not least because they potentially
bring into contact Russian forces who are on the ground in Syria and
the US forces," Matthew Chance, CNN's senior international correspondent
based in Moscow, said.
Russia was
warned of the attack before it took place, in accordance with
deconfliction policies between the US and Russia over military
activities in Syria.
Nevertheless, Chance pointed out, Russia did
not choose to use surface-to-air missiles systems in place in Syria
that are "fully capable of intercepting cruise missiles if they so
choose to."
"(This) implies a degree of tacit Russian consent to the strikes," Chance said.
Russian involvement
Ahead of the strike against the airbase, Russian officials warned
the US against making any "snap judgments" regarding the chemical
weapons attack, which struck a rebel-held town Tuesday in Syria's Idlib
province.
Russia has attempted to negotiate ceasefires in Syria, and in January began withdrawing some military forces from the conflict area.
Support
from Russian airstrikes for Syrian regime forces have been crucial in
helping them to gain the upper hand in the long-running conflict and
pushing rebel fighters from the key city of Aleppo in December.
But Russia's next moves are uncertain, and prior to the US action, Putin had made it clear he expected Russian involvement to wind down.
The Kremlin has worked closely with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an enemy of Assad, to negotiate ceasefires and bring about a potential diplomatic solution to the conflict.
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