UK urges Russian President to stop supporting Syrian government

(Baonghean.vn)- Russia needs to end its support for the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. This is the statement made by British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on the eve of the G-7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Lucca, central Italy.

Russia is the Syrian government's closest ally. Photo: AP

"It's time for Russian President Vladimir Putin to face up to the truth about the dictator he is supporting," Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said, according to a Foreign Office spokesman. "We need to make it clear to Putin that the time for supporting Assad is over." Mr Johnson warned that Putin was "destroying Russia" by backing the Syrian leader. "President Putin needs to understand that Assad is toxic in every way," Mr Johnson added. "He is poisoning innocent people in Syria with weapons banned 100 years ago -- and he is poisoning Russia's reputation."

Earlier, on April 8, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson canceled a previously planned visit to Moscow over Russia's support for the Syrian government. This decision was criticized by Moscow.

The suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria has claimed the lives of dozens of civilians, including children. Photo: AFP

Johnson’s decision to cancel his visit to Russia came just days after a suspected chemical weapons attack on a rebel-held town in Syria that killed at least 87 people. The US then fired nearly 60 cruise missiles at a Syrian military base, saying it was retaliation for the attack. This was the first time Washington had taken direct military action against President Assad’s government./.

Lan Ha

(According to AFP)