Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Monday 16 april 2018

Syria's allies say airstrikes undercut political resolution

By BASSEM MROUE and group in their Damascus
SARAH EL DEEB hotel Sunday.
Associated Press The government regained
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — full control of Douma on
The leaders of Russia, Iran Saturday following a sur-
and the Hezbollah group in render deal with the rebels
Lebanon said Sunday that in the town east of Damas-
Western airstrikes on their cus. It later deployed an-
ally, Syria, have complicat- other 5,000 security forces
ed prospects for a political there.
settlement to the country's Russian military police had
seven-year conflict. been deployed in Douma,
A day after the U.S., Britain raising complaints from the
and France bombarded Syrian opposition that evi-
sites they said were linked dence of chemical weap-
to a chemical weapons ons use might no longer be
program, Syrian President found.
Bashar Assad appeared Douma was the last rebel
briefly on state TV, seem- holdout in the eastern Gh-
ingly unfazed by the mili- outa suburbs, the target of
tary action — and even re- a government offensive in
portedly in high spirits. This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrian President Bashar Assad, February and March that
Assad told a group of visit- center right, meets with Russian politicians, in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, April 15, 208. killed hundreds and dis-
ing Russian lawmakers that Associated Press placed tens of thousands.
the strikes were accom- France, meanwhile, has
panied by a campaign of Iranian President Hassan group that has hundreds neth F. McKenzie, direc- reached out to Russia,
"lies and misinformation" Rouhani, and they agreed of fighters backing Assad's tor of the Joint Staff at urging it to join renewed
against Syria and Russia in the Western airstrikes were forces, said the airstrikes the Pentagon, said the al- peace efforts.
the U.N. Security Council. an "illegal action ... ad- failed to "terrorize or break lied airstrikes "took out the In an interview published
Moscow and Damascus versely impacting pros- the spirits" of Syria and its al- heart" of Assad's chemical Sunday in the Journal du
are waging the same "bat- pects for political settle- lies. weapons arsenal. When Dimanche newspaper,
tles" against terrorism and ment in Syria," a Kremlin Instead, he said, the attack pressed, however, he ac- French Foreign Minister
"to protect international statement said. bolstered the confidence knowledged that some un- Jean-Yves Le Drian said
law based on respect of Putin said the actions vio- of the Syrian army and its specified portion of Assad's Moscow "should join our ef-
the sovereignty of countries lated the U.N. Charter and allies, as well as probably chemical arms infrastruc- forts to promote a political
and the wills of people," if they continue, "it will in- sinking the already-falter- ture was not targeted. process in Syria that would
Assad said in comments evitably entail chaos in in- ing U.N.-backed peace Assad denies he has used allow a way out of the cri-
carried by state media, an ternational relations," the process on Syria in Geneva. chemical weapons, and sis."
apparent jab at the three statement said. "If the goal was to pressure the U.S. has yet to present In a televised interview Sun-
Western allies. The official IRNA news Syria to expedite a political evidence of what it says led day night, French President
Russian lawmaker Dmitry agency quoted Rouhani as solution, I think what hap- to the allied action: a chlo- Emmanuel Macron said the
Sablin, who met with Assad, saying The U.S. and "some pened will complicate the rine gas attack on civilians U.S., France and Britain had
said he appeared upbeat Western countries do not political solution and will in Douma on April 7 that "full international legitimacy
and believed the airstrikes want Syria to reach perma- strain international relations killed more than 40 people. to intervene" because they
would unify the country. nent stability." and the Geneva track, if The U.S. says it suspects that had gotten evidence the
Russia and Iran have called Iran and Russia should not not torpedo Geneva alto- sarin gas also was used. Syrian government used
the action a "military crime" allow the "fire of a new gether," Nasrallah told an A team from the Organi- chemical weapons against
and "act of aggression." tension" to flare up in the election rally in Lebanon. zation for the Prohibition its own people and the air-
The U.N. Security Council region, Rouhani said, add- Nasrallah said there is no of Chemical Weapons is strikes were enforcing inter-
rejected a Russian resolu- ing that the airstrikes were chemical program in Syria, in Syria to investigate the national humanitarian law.
tion calling for condemna- an "invasion" aimed at "em- and he likened the attacks Douma incident and was "It was retaliation, not an
tion of the "aggression" by boldening defeated terror- in Syria to the West's con- expected to visit the town. act of war," Macron said
the U.S., France and Britain. ists," IRNA reported. cern over Iran's nuclear Syrian Deputy Foreign Min- on French TV channel BMF
Russian President Vladimir Hassan Nasrallah, the lead- program. ister Faisal Mikdad met with and online investigative site
Putin spoke by phone with er of Lebanon's Hezbollah U.S. Marine Lt. Gen. Ken- members of the watchdog Mediapart. q