MICHELE KELEMEN, BYLINE: U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley says the Trump administration was justified in attacking the airfield, which she says the Syrians used to launch a chemical weapons attack this week.
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The officials also said they’re looking into whether Russian Federation participated in the chemical weapons attack in Syria earlier this week that prompted President Donald Trump’s order for a retaliation.
Haley’s remarks came just a day after she warned that Washington was prepared to take further actions in Syria during a special session at the United Nations following a U.S. military strike against a Syrian air base.
US President Donald Trump has signaled a startling about-turn toward Assad, who many in the worldwide community hold responsible for Tuesday’s horrific events.
With the election of Trump, who said he’d work with Russian Federation to defeat ISIS, Putin saw an opportunity to revive his idea of forming an worldwide coalition to fight terrorism.
Russian Federation had previously supplied the Assad regime with state-of-the-art S-300 and S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems. He said the most ideal process would be a political solution that leads to a transitional government.
Tillerson, who previously did business with the Russian government as head of Exxon Mobil, is set to visit Moscow next week.
“So there’s multiple priorities”, she said.
When CNN asked about U.S. allegations that Russian Federation might have been complicit, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied via text message: “That is not true”.
Trump came to office promising both to improve ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin but earlier Wednesday US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged Russia to rethink its support for Assad.
Haley also reiterated her warning at the United Nations the day after the U.S. strike.
And Haley, 45, a former governor of SC, has created at least the impression among her fellow ambassadors that she is carving out a space for herself in an administration where it isn’t always clear who is guiding contentious policy. The Russian Ministry of Defense notified the USA military that it’s suspending the channel they use to steer clear of each other in the skies over Syria. “The world needs to see the use of chemical weapons will not be tolerated”.
A Russian frigate armed with cruise missiles was heading to the Mediterranean in an apparent show of force a day after the first direct military strike by the U.S. against the Syrian regime.
Later, CNN reported the chairman of the Russian Senate’s global affairs committee wrote a social media post calling Haley’s comments “a direct sabotage” of efforts to negotiate the removal of Assad from Syria’s government. And he pointed out that a joint investigative mechanism set up earlier by the council found the Syrian military responsible for chemical weapons use on at least three previous occasions.
French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel released a joint statement laying blame on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the strikes.
And here’s the thing: We have to commend Haley for showing up at this event.
“We’ve seen what that looks like, when you undertake a violent regime change in Libya, and the situation in Libya continues to be very chaotic”, he said.
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“Well this is part of the problem in Syria, is Russia’s sponsorship of this murderous regime”, McMaster said on “Fox News Sunday”.
