Russia: War is coming?
(Baonghean.vn) - Moscow has accused the West of escalating tensions over Syria based on vague evidence, while asserting that even threats to attack the country's government constitute a violation of international law.
 |
| Fighter jets on the USS Harry S. Truman, a destroyer recently deployed to the Middle East. Photo: Reuters |
At a press conference in Moscow on April 12, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: “Who among us has not wondered whether war is coming? Everything has been done to make it happen.”
“Warlike statements are constantly being made from Washington, threatening us with a major escalation. And the target is not only Damascus, but also Russia, which they believe is protecting Bashar Assad and therefore must share responsibility for alleged ‘war crimes’.
Moscow’s statements followed a tweet from US President Donald Trump on April 11, in which he told Russia to “get ready” for “nice and new and ‘smart’” US missiles. However, on April 12, the US leader appeared to walk back the direct threat, explaining that he “never said when an attack on Syria would take place.”
Zakharova also criticized Washington's insistence that Syrian government forces were responsible for a suspected chemical weapons attack in Douma, a suburb of Damascus, on April 7, which Russia believes was staged by Islamist militants to draw the West into the war.
“If one is fully aware of the value of fake or unverified information, how can one decide to use force and make international threats without really understanding the situation on the ground?” Zakharova asked.
The spokeswoman also condemned the World Health Organization (WHO) for “irresponsibly disseminating unreliable and unsubstantiated information” when it claimed that 500 people had been hospitalized with “signs and symptoms consistent with exposure to a toxic chemical.”
Russia insists that the WHO has no personnel in Douma, and is simply spreading disinformation from the White Helmets and other groups that Russia says are linked to Islamic extremists.
After the UN Security Council failed to adopt a resolution on Syria this week, Zakharova reminded the US and France that “even the threat of using force against a UN member is a flagrant violation of the UN charter.”
“We hope that our partners will be sober enough to return to diplomatic means to resolve the current conflict, within the framework of the United Nations,” Zakharova said.
