Russian U.N. Envoy: U.S. Missile Strikes an ‘Act of Aggression’ that Will Strengthen Terrorism

Friday during the U.N. Security Council’s session on Syria, Russia’s deputy U.N. envoy Vladimir Safronkov said President Donald Trump missile strike on Syria in response to that country’s alleged use of chemical weapons was an “act of aggression,” which will “only facilitated the strengthening of terrorism.”

Safronkov said via a translator, “On the night of the 7th of April, the United States attacked the territory of sovereign Syria. We describe that attack as a flagrant violation of international law and an act of aggression. We strongly condemn the illegitimate actions by the U.S. The consequences of this for regional and international stability could be extremely serious. This attack was a flagrant violation of the 2015 memorandum on preventing incidents and ensuring security during our operations in Syrian airspace and the ministry of defense of Russia has stopped its cooperation with Pentagon under that memorandum.”

He continued, “Of recent times the United States administration has often talked about combat international terrorism and this was just — this justified American troops and their allies being present on Syrian territory. Although they were there without the invitation of the legitimate government of Syria and without the approval of the security council of the United Nations. Manipulating articles of the United Nations charter beyond any criticism. The aggression by the U.S. has only facilitated the strengthening of terrorism. The attack came against Syrian armed forces structure and its air force. That is against those who over all these years have been combatting terrorism. It’s not difficult to imagine how much the spirits of these terrorists have been raised after the support from Washington.”

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