Russian Foreign Ministry: US attacks country which is fighting international terrorism

US attack in Syria was not just a show of force, but a military resistance against a country that is fighting international terrorism, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday. 

"The US missile strikes on Syria airfield was a clear act of aggression against sovereign Syria. The actions taken today by the US further destroy Russian-US relations," the Russia Foreign Ministry said.

Without taking the trouble to look into the situation the United States opted for the show of muscle, for military resistance to a country that fights against international terrorism," the Foreign Ministry said. "This is not the first time that the United States takes such a reckless approach, which merely exacerbates the world’s problems and poses a threat to international security."

"In its attempts to excuse the military strike Washington utterly distorted the events in Idlib," the Foreign Ministry said. "The US side cannot but be aware that Syria’s government forces did not use chemical weapons there. Damascus does not have any, which has more than once been confirmed by competent specialists. The corresponding conclusions were made by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which over the past years has inspected practically all facilities that had or might have been involved in Syria’s chemical weapons program. As for Idlib, terrorists there were making bombs stuffed with poisonous chemicals for their subsequent use in Syria and Iraq. That facility was eliminated by the Syrian Air Force."

"Undoubtedly, the US strike is an attempt to divert attention from the situation in Mosul where hundreds of civilians lost their lives due to actions, including by the US-led coalition, and the humanitarian disaster is mounting ," the ministry said.

"Apparently, the US cruise missile strike was prepared in advance," the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "It is clear to any specialist that a decision on carrying out the strikes was made in Washington prior to the developments in Idlib, which were just used as a pretext for demonstrating strength."