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Russia has warned that US cruise missile strikes on a Syrian air base could have "extremely serious" consequences, as President Donald Trump's first major foray into a foreign conflict opened up a rift between Moscow and Washington.
Key points:
- Russian diplomat warns of consequences for regional and international stability
- US signals new sanctions against Damascus are likely following the missile strikes
- UN Security Council negotiating resolution to condemn the gas attack in Syria
US warships in the Mediterranean Sea launched dozens of Tomahawk missiles that hit the airstrip, aircraft and fuel stations of the Shayrat air base, which the Pentagon says was involved in a chemical weapons attack this week.
It was Mr Trump's biggest foreign policy decision since taking office in January and the kind of direct intervention in Syria's six-year-old civil war his predecessor Barack Obama avoided.
The strikes were in reaction to what Washington said was a chemical weapons attack by the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, that killed at least 70 people in rebel-held territory.
The US action catapulted Washington into confrontation with Russia, which has military advisers on the ground aiding its close ally Mr Assad.
"We strongly condemn the illegitimate actions by the US," Russia's deputy UN envoy, Vladimir Safronkov, told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
"The consequences of this for regional and international stability could be extremely serious."
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev claimed the US strikes were one step away from clashing with Russia's military.
But US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Russia's response to the attack on Syria showed the nation continued to support Mr Assad.
Mr Tillerson said the reaction was "very disappointing" but "not all that surprising".
US officials informed Russian forces ahead of the missile strikes, and avoided hitting Russian personnel.
Satellite imagery suggests the base houses Russian special forces and helicopters, part of the Kremlin's effort to help Mr Assad fight Islamic State and other militant groups.
US preparing additional sanctions against Syria
Mr Trump has frequently urged improved relations with Russia, strained under Mr Obama over Syria, Ukraine and other issues, but he said action had to be taken against Mr Assad.
"Years of previous attempts at changing Assad's behaviour have all failed and failed very dramatically," Mr Trump said as he announced the attack from his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, where he was meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Standing firm, the Trump administration signalled new sanctions against Damascus would soon follow the missile attack.
The Pentagon is even probing whether Russia itself was involved in the chemical weapons assault that compelled Mr Trump to action.
US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said the Trump administration was ready to take further steps if needed.
"We are prepared to do more, but we hope that will not be necessary," she told the UN Security Council.
"The United States will not stand by when chemical weapons are used. It is in our vital national security interest to prevent the spread and use of chemical weapons."
Syrian army says US missiles killed seven
At the same emergency UN Security Council meeting, Sweden's UN ambassador Olof Skoog said the US missile attack "raises questions of compatibility with international law".
US officials said the intervention was a "one-off" intended to deter future chemical weapons attacks, and not an expansion of the US role in the Syrian war.
The action is likely to be interpreted as a signal to Russia, as well as countries such as North Korea, China and Iran where Mr Trump has faced foreign policy tests early in his presidency, that he is willing to use force.
Senior US military officials said the missiles destroyed up to 20 Syrian aircraft and damaged fuel sites and a surface-to-air missile system.
The Syrian army said the US attack killed seven people and called it "blatant aggression" which made the United States a partner of "terrorist groups" including Islamic State.
There was no independent confirmation of civilian casualties.
Damascus and Moscow denied Syrian forces were behind the gas attack earlier in the week, but Western countries dismissed their explanation that chemicals leaked from a rebel weapons depot after an air strike.
Russian state television blamed rebels for the chemical attack, and did not show footage of victims.
UN mulls resolution to condemn Syria gas attack
US politicians from both parties have backed Mr Trump's action but demanded he spell out a broader strategy for dealing with the conflict and consult with Congress on any further action.
Neither the Trump administration nor its predecessor has laid out a policy aimed at ending the Syrian conflict.
The UN Security Council had been negotiating a resolution, proposed by the United States, France and Britain, to condemn the gas attack and push the Syrian Government to cooperate with international investigators.
Russia said the text was unacceptable and after the council failed to bridge the gap in closed-door negotiations, diplomats said it was unlikely to be put to a vote.
Washington has long backed rebels fighting Mr Assad in a multi-sided civil war that has killed more than 400,000 people and driven half of Syrians from their homes since 2011.
The United States has conducted air strikes against Islamic State, which controls territory in eastern and northern Syria, and a small number of US troops are helping militias fighting its militants.
Asked whether the strikes set back any efforts to work with Russia to defeat Islamic State, also known as ISIS, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said: "There can be a shared commitment to defeat ISIS and also agree that you can't gas your own people."
Reuters/AP
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, world-politics, donald-trump, syrian-arab-republic, united-states, russian-federation
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