By Diyar Guldogan
ANKARA (AA) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday termed the U.S. airstrikes on a Syrian military air base as an “act of aggression”.
“All I can say right now this is definitely an act of aggression,” Lavrov said, according to his televised remarks reported by Russia Today.
Lavrov’s remarks came at a meeting of the Foreign Ministers Council of the Commonwealth of Independent States in the Uzbek capital Tashkent.
He said the attack reminded him of the situation in 2003 when the U.S. and its allies invaded Iraq without the UN Security Council’s “mandate”.
Referring to the U.S. strikes, he said what happened will “only” help those who want to “disrupt” the process in Geneva and Astana.
Lavrov said the new situation will be an “additional blow” to Russian-American relations.
“Still I hope that these provocations will not produce irreversible results,” he added.
About casualties among Russian servicemen, Lavrov said: “As far as we know, there have been no such casualties.”
The U.S. fired 59 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian military air base American officials believe was used to carry out a deadly chemical attack Tuesday, the Pentagon confirmed.
The missiles were fired from two U.S. destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean and hit the air base at approximately 3.45 a.m. Syrian local time Friday (0045GMT). Aircraft, hardened aircraft shelters, petroleum and logistical storage, ammunition supply bunkers, air defense systems, and radars were targeted, the Pentagon said.
