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UP FRONTSaturday 8 April 2017
US strikes win global praise _ but ratchet up Russia tension
JULIE PACE the U.S. “flagrant violation emergency Security Coun- will continue to have an im- rity team to swiftly prepare
AP White House Correspon- of international law and an cil session. “The world is portant effect on prevent- military options.
dent act of aggression” whose waiting for Russia to recon- ing people from doing busi- The decision undercut an-
PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — “consequences for region- sider its misplaced alliance ness with them.” other campaign promise
The United States vowed al and international secu- with Bashar Assad.” Thursday night’s strikes for Trump: his pledge to
Friday to keep the pressure try to warm relations with
on Syria after the intense In this image provided by the White House, President Donald Trump receives a briefing on the Moscow. After months of
nighttime wave of missile Syria military strike from his National Security team after the strike at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, allegations of ties between
strikes from U.S. ships, de- Fla., Thursday night, April 6, 2017. his election campaign and
spite the prospect of es- the Kremlin — the subject of
calating Russian ill will that (White House via AP) current congressional and
could further inflame one FBI investigations — Trump
of the world’s most vexing rity could be extremely se- Haley said the U.S. was pre- — some 60 cruise missiles has found himself clashing
conflicts. rious.” He called the Assad pared to take further ac- fired from two ships in the with Putin.
Standing firm, the Trump government a main force tion in Syria but hoped it Mediterranean — were On Friday, senior U.S. mili-
administration signaled against terrorism and said it wouldn’t be necessary. the culmination of a rapid, tary officials were looking
new sanctions would soon deserved the presumption In Florida with the presi- three-day transformation more closely at possible
follow the missile attack, of innocence in the chemi- dent, meanwhile, Treasury for Trump, who has long op- Russian involvement in the
and the Pentagon was cal weapons attack. Secretary Steven Mnuchin posed deeper U.S. involve- poison attack. Officials said
even probing whether Rus- U.S. officials blame Moscow said, “We will be announc- ment in Syria’s civil war. Ad- a drone belonging to either
sia itself was involved in the for propping up Assad. ing additional sanctions on visers said he was outraged Russia or Syria was seen
chemical weapons assault “The world is waiting for the Syria as part of our ongo- by heartbreaking images of hovering over the site after
that compelled President Russian government to act ing effort to stop this type young children who were the assault earlier this week.
Donald Trump to action. responsibly in Syria,” Nikki of activity and emphasize among the dozens killed in The drone returned late in
The attack against a Syrian Haley, the U.S. ambassador how significant we view the chemical attack and the day as citizens were
air base was the first U.S. to the U.N., said during an this. We expect that those ordered his national secu- going to a nearby hospital
assault against the govern- for treatment. Shortly after-
ment of President Bashar ward, officials say the hos-
Assad. pital was targeted.
Much of the international The officials, who insisted
community rallied behind on anonymity in order to
Trump’s decision to fire the discuss the sensitive mat-
cruise missiles in reaction ter, said they believe the
to this week’s chemical hospital attack may have
weapons attack that killed been an effort to cover up
dozens of men, women evidence of the earlier as-
and children in Syria. But a sault.
spokesman for Russian Pres- White House officials cau-
ident Vladimir Putin warned tion that Trump is not pre-
that the strikes dealt “a sig- paring to plunge the U.S.
nificant blow” to relations deeper into Syria. Spokes-
between Moscow and man Sean Spicer said the
Washington. missile attack sent a clear
At the United Nations, Rus- message to Assad, but he
sia’s deputy ambassador, avoided explicitly calling
Vladimir Safronkov, strongly for the Syrian to leave of-
criticized what he called fice. q
Trump, Xi showdown fails to materialize at Mar-a-Lago
VIVIAN SALAMA U.S. officials said the two program — although a nearly $900 million in March cratic People’s Republic of
MATTHEW PENNINGTON sides agreed to increase much heavier risk would for shipping sensitive U.S.- Korea.
Associated Press cooperation on trying to be required to take military made technology to Iran in Tillerson said Trump and Xi
PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — get North Korea’s to aban- action against the nuclear- violation of U.S. sanctions. noted the urgency of the
What was billed as a show- don its nuclear weapons armed North, which has its “They recognize that shows threat of North Korea’s
down between the leaders program, and China ac- artillery and missiles trained our clear determination to weapons program and
of the United States and knowledged the need for on a key U.S. ally, South Ko- crack down on this sort of that they reaffirmed their
China over trade and North more balanced trade with rea. activity,” Commerce Sec- commitment to a denucle-
Korea ended with little sign the U.S. The U.S. administration’s first retary Wilbur Ross told re- arization of the divided Ko-
of confrontation Friday — But the two days of meet- recourse is very likely to be porters. rean Peninsula.
or of concrete progress in ings appeared heavier on economic — pushing Chi- Secretary of State Rex Til- On trade issues, Trump
resolving their differences. optics than substance. The na to crack down on Chi- lerson said the U.S. and called for China to “level
President Donald Trump most powerful message for nese banks and companies China “agreed to increase the playing field” for Ameri-
had predicted a “very diffi- the Chinese leader may said to provide North Korea cooperation and work with can workers, stressing the
cult” meeting with Chinese have been Trump’s deci- access to the international the international commu- need for reciprocal market
President Xi Jinping. After sion to launch U.S. missile financial system. nity to convince the DPRK access. He also noted the
their first face-to-face at strikes at Syria. In a possible harbinger of to peacefully resolve the importance of protecting
the Mar-a-Lago resort, he Those strikes added weight the kind of punishments issue and abandon its illicit human rights, and asked
trumpeted they had de- to Trump’s threat last week Washington could inflict, a weapons programs.” DPRK China to adhere to interna-
veloped an “outstanding” to act unilaterally against leading Chinese telecoms stands for North Korea’s tional norms in the seas of
relationship. North Korea’s weapons company, ZTE, was fined official name, the Demo- East Asia, Tillerson said.q
