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US air strikes in Syria: Russia suspends agreement that prevents direct conflict with American forces US air strikes in Syria: Russia suspends agreement that prevents direct conflict with American forces
(35 minutes later)
Russia has said it is suspending a deal with the US to prevent mid-air collisions over Syria in response to the air strike on a Syrian air base. Russia has said it is suspending a deal with the US to prevent mid-air collisions over Syria in response to US air strikes on a Syrian air base.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday that Moscow is suspending a memorandum with the US that prevented incidents and ensure flight safety. The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that following Donald Trump's decision to fire 59 cruise missiles at a military target in Syria on Thursday, Moscow was suspending a memorandum with the US that prevented incidents and ensured flight safety.
"The Russian side is suspended by the Memorandum on prevention of incidents and ensuring aviation safety during operations in Syria, signed with the United States," the statement read. Under the memorandum, signed after Russia launched an air campaign in Syria in September 2015, Russia and the US had exchanged information about their flights to avoid incidents in the crowded skies over Syria — where Russia has several dozen warplanes and batteries of air-defense missiles.
Under the memorandum, signed after Russia launched an air campaign in Syria in September 2015, Russia and the US had exchanged information about their flights to avoid incidents in the crowded skies over Syria. The White House described the cruise missile strikes launched from US ships in the Mediterranean as a “warning shot” that was “necessary and appropriate” following Mr al-Assad’s alleged use of chemical weapons on civilians in rebel-held town Idlib earlier this week.
Russia has several dozen warplanes and batteries of air-defense missiles at its base in Syria. President Vladimir Putin, a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, meanwhile condemned the US strikes, saying they broke international law and have seriously damaged US-Russia relations.
More to follow.. The statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry described the action taken by the US President as an “act of aggression” that constituted a "gross, obvious and unwarranted violation of international law".
It stated: "The very presence of US troops and other countries on the territory of Syria, without the consent of the Government or the decision of the UN Security Council is a gross, obvious and unwarranted violation of international law.
"If before it was due to the task of combating terrorism, now there is a clear act of aggression against a sovereign Syria. US Actions taken today further destroy the Russian-American relations."
The Kremlin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said earlier that Mr Putin believed the action by Mr Trump was taken on a “made-up pretext” to distract the world from civilian deaths in Iraq.
The Syrian army said the attack on the Syrian air base has killed six Syrian troops and led to big material losses, calling it a "blatant act of aggression". Russia's embassy in Damascus said it has no information yet on whether Russian citizens were hurt as a result of the missile strikes but was looking into the issue, according to the RIA news agency.
The British government meanwhile said it “fully supports” the US in carrying out an air strike on a Syrian government military target, describing the cruise missile strikes launched from US ships in the Mediterranean as a “warning shot” that was “necessary and appropriate”.