Russian presidential representative Dmitry Peskov said the U.S. rocket assault was rather helping Islamist state group in Syria and al-Qaida.
Russia, close ally of Syria on Friday condemned the U.S. military activity, calling it “animosity against a sovereign state,” and said it was suspending a memorandum of comprehension with the U.S. for flight security over Syria and increase Syria’s air defenses in reaction.
He added “We don’t yet know what goals Washington wanted to achieve by deciding to carry out these strikes, but it is unequivocally clear that the strikes were de facto carried out in the interests of Islamic State, Jabhat al-Nusra and other terrorist organizations”.
Both Damascus and Moscow claimed the air base was utilized for launching aircraft against terrorists inside Syria, whereby the United States however says it was utilized to convey a chemical weapons attack on Tuesday in Idlib area that killed citizens including children.
Russia’s Defense Ministry Friday said without evidence, that Washington planned the Syria strikes before the chemical weapons casualties occurred in Idlib. However, President Donald Trump requested the strike of Tomahawk rockets after measuring military reactions and came to verify that it was a deliberate chemical assault on regular people.
Russia, the greatest ally of Syria has supported Syrian government that the toxic gas was released from the chemical weapons warehouse of the rebels which were then destroyed during fighting.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Friday suspended the airspace safety notice with the United States for Syria, a memorandum that was established in September 2015. However, suspending the memorandum agreement could bring about the risk of clashes between Russian forces and the U.S. coalition in Syria.
Alexander Golts, the deputy editor of Yezhenedelny Zhurnal (Weekly Journal) said “When Russia suspends this memorandum it means that first, Americans do not need to inform Russia before the next strike and, Russia wants to have open hand to do anything it wants in response. So, it makes the possibility of direct conflict much more possible than it was two days before.”
According to Syria, the U.S airstrike killed its troops and civilians as well as several planes were destroyed. No reports on Russian casualties.
The Weakness Of Russia
The big question is why Russia could not intercept the Tomahawks regardless of the anti-rocket system built by Russia in Syria.
Alexei Malashenko, a political analyst said “I do not understand why Russia did not protect Assad in this case. Maybe it is impossible. I do not know if something can be done against Tomahawks. It is a question for militaries. But, at the same time, there is a broader issue: is Russia able to protect Assad in case of the next aggression? It means that Assad is not totally protected by Russia and it proves a weakness of Russia.”
Golt also doubted if Russia is capable of intercepting American cruise missiles or they just neglected it. This implies that Assad is not completely secured by Russia and it demonstrates Russia weakness.
Golt added “From the very beginning, Russian presence prime goal, was not to fight against terrorists, but to push Americans to speak with them. And, in fact, it was clear blackmail. It was like “You should speak with us or any accidents can be possible.” And, along these lines he undermines every Russian endeavor to utilize military force in Syria as a genuine instrument in its universal policy.”
USA Reaction To Russia
This issue has increased in tension as the U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will pay a visit to Moscow on Wednesday to meet with Russian leaders.
Tillerson had extreme words for Moscow in front of his visit. He said, the Tuesday chemical assault indicated Russia neglected to do a 2013 consent to secure Syrian chemical weapons and was either complicit or incompetent.
The Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov added, “Of course I am upset that all of this brings more damage to already frayed relations between Russia and the United States” . However, he hopes that these provocations will not lead to some kind of irreversible consequences.
In any case, there were no signs that Russia would cancel the meeting on Wednesday. The International Affairs Committee of Russia’s parliament, the Duma, said the U.S. strikes should not affect Tillerson’s Moscow visit.
