UN Security Council holds emergency meeting, Russia and US 'attack' each other

The United Nations Security Council has held an emergency meeting to discuss the US cruise missile attack on a Syrian airport.

Speaking at the meeting, Russia's deputy representative to the UN Security Council Vladimir Safronkov said that the US missile attack on Syria only "contributes to strengthening terrorism and that shows that the US is afraid of facing a real investigation into the chemical attack that killed dozens of people in Syria."

According to RT, Mr. Vladimir Safronkov emphasized that the above attack was an act of 'illegal invasion' against a sovereign country.

Meanwhile, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said the missile strike was 'entirely justified' because it destroyed the airport used to carry out the chemical attack.

Ambassador Haley also accused Russia and Iran of 'bearing responsibility' for the crisis in Syria.

Representatives of Britain and France also criticized Russia for vetoing many UN resolutions on the Syria issue.

Meanwhile, UN political affairs official Jeffrey Feltman said immediate action was needed to protect the Syrian people, but that action must be "based on UN principles and international law."

According to RT, the meeting included 15 members, including all five permanent members: China, Russia, France, the UK and the US.

Earlier, RIA news agency quoted a Russian diplomatic source on April 7 as saying that Moscow had proposed convening an emergency meeting of the UN ceasefire task force to discuss US airstrikes in Syria.

Such talks are chaired by UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura and were set up in early 2016 with the support of both Russia and the United States.

It is a forum for diplomats to discuss violations of the fragile ceasefire in Syria.

According to Vietnamnet.vn