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May & Trump agree it's 'vital to deter chemical weapon use by Assad' in Syria – UK
RT,
12
April, 2018
British
Prime Minister Theresa May and US President Donald Trump have agreed
to keep working on an international response to the alleged chemical
attack in Syria’s Douma, vowing it would not “go unchallenged.”
The
UK and US leaders discussed Syria in a phone call on Thursday
evening, a Downing Street spokesman said in a statement. The two have
once again pointed the finger at the Syrian government, accusing it
of “a
pattern of dangerous behavior in relation to the use of chemical
weapons.”
Hinting
that a retaliation is imminent, May and Trump agreed that it
was “vital” that
what they claim was a chlorine attack on civilians on April 7 “did
not go unchallenged.” A
concerted response by the allies would serve “to
deter the further use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime,” the
statement issued by the prime minister’s office reads.
The
US and the UK would continue exploring the options with regards to
Syria while “working
closely together” it
added.
The
call took place shortly after an emergency
meeting of
the British government, where ministers concluded that it was “highly
likely” that
the Syrian government bears responsibility for the attack, which,
according to the Syrian opposition and linked media sources, killed
and injured dozens of civilians.
Earlier,
French President Emmanuel Macron, who, together with Trump and May,
is spearheading the Western response to the alleged chemical attack,
claimed that the Syrian government “at
least” used
chlorine in Douma, without providing any new evidence to back up the
claims.
The
Pentagon chief, James Mattis, also admitted that
the US military is still “looking
for the actual evidence,” but
said he still believes that the attack did take place.
While
the accusatory rhetoric from the US, the UK and France is becoming
more vociferous, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons (OPCW) experts are yet to embark on their fact-finding
mission to determine if chemical weapons were deployed in Douma, but
not assign blame for their use.
The
first group of four experts arrived in Syria on Thursday and the
second is due to travel there on Friday.
Cabinet
agrees on need to ‘take action’ in Syria to deter use of chemical
weapons
Downing
Street said an ‘international response’ would be coordinated with
the United States and France
12
April, 2018
Theresa
May’s cabinet has agreed on the need to “take action” to deter
the use of chemical weapons in Syria, ahead of an expected military
strike on regime targets.
Downing
Street said an “international response” would be coordinated with
allies France and the US, to show that the use of toxic weapons in
the Middle Eastern country’s civil war would not be tolerated.
The
cabinet agreed that Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad had a track record
of using chemical weapons and was “highly likely” to have been
behind last Saturday’s suspected chemical weapons attack in the
town of Douma.
It
comes as the armed forces of the Western allies, Syria and Russia all
prepared for action, with The Independent understanding that missiles
could be fired imminently.
During
the two-hour cabinet meeting, in which every member of Ms May’s top
team is said to have spoken, the prime minister said the Douma
incident was a “shocking and barbaric act” which killed dozens of
innocent people.
A
readout from the urgent gathering called by the prime minister amid
rising tensions said Ms May had explained that the attack was “a
further example of the erosion of international law in relation to
the use of chemical weapons”.
The
readout went on: “Following a discussion in which every member
present made a contribution, cabinet agreed it was vital that the use
of chemical weapons did not go unchallenged.
“Cabinet
agreed on the need to take action to alleviate humanitarian distress
and to deter the further use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime.
“Cabinet
agreed the prime minister should continue to work with allies in the
United States and France to coordinate an international response.”
Ms
May later spoke to US President Donald Trump. A Downing Street
spokesperson said they "agreed that the Assad regime had
established a pattern of dangerous behaviour in relation to the use
of chemical weapons.
"They
agreed it was vital that the use of chemical weapons did not go
unchallenged, and on the need to deter the further use of chemical
weapons by the Assad regime
"They
agreed to keep working closely together on the international
response."
Some
military forces from Britain, France and the US are already in place
to strike Syrian regime targets, with others reported to be
manoeuvring into position.
Syrian
government forces are said to have been moving out of harms way and
preparing defences, while Russia has said it will take action to
protect its personnel in Syria, raising the prospect of a clash
between Russian and Western military assets.
The
Downing Street readout said: “This afternoon cabinet met and
received an update on the attack against innocent civilians in Douma,
Syria, on Saturday.
“The
prime minister said it was a shocking and barbaric act which killed
up to 75 people, including children, in the most appalling and
inhumane way.
“Cabinet
agreed that the Assad regime has a track record of the use of
chemical weapons and it is highly likely that the regime is
responsible for Saturday’s attack.”
It
is possible that an attack could come as early as Thursday night,
with British attack submarines said to be on standby in the
Mediterranean Sea, while RAF fighter jets based in Cyprus could also
be used.
But
an early attack would intensify domestic pressure on the prime
minister, who faces demands from her own back benches and from
Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn and other party leaders to allow parliament
a vote prior to any action.
Former
Tory chancellor Ken Clarke said earlier on Thursday: “In a modern,
parliamentary democracy, I think you have got to have parliamentary
approval if you have a planned, policy decision to launch a military
attack of any significant size.
“To
say that parliament is just sidelined before you take such a serious
decision is a very retrograde step. It makes parliamentary
accountability fairly pathetic.”
French
president Emmanuel Macron also laid the ground for action,
undertaking a round on interviews in which he said he had proof the
Assad regime was responsible for an air strike involving chemical
weapons on civilians in Douma.
He
explained that he would decide on what action to take once all the
information had been verified, insisting he would strive to prevent
an escalation of conflict across the Middle East.
Mr
Macron has previously called for a “strong” response to last
weekend’s attack on the town, for which the Syrian government
denies responsibility.
Donald
Trump was also meeting his own security officials after a day in
which he continued verbose diplomacy over social media.
After
earlier having told Russia to “get ready” for missiles to hit
Syrian targets he took to Twitter to say an attack on the country
“could be very soon or not so soon at all!”.
Just
24 hours earlier he had said on the same platform: “Russia vows to
shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria.
“Get
ready, Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and ‘smart’.
You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his
people and enjoys it!”
Russia’s
ambassador to Lebanon, Alexander Zasypkinhad, had warned that his
country would shoot down US rockets, and even fire on “the sources
that launched the missiles”
‘They can go anywhere they want in Douma’: OPCW team arrives in Syria toinvestigate alleged attack
The
first four chemical weapons experts from the OPCW have arrived in
Syria on a fact-finding mission (FFM) into the April 7 Douma
incident, while Western leaders continue to blame the government for
the alleged attack.
In response to media queries, the Spokesperson for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) confirms that the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) team is on its way to Syria and will start its work as of Saturday 14 April 2018.
Germany,
Italy Refuse To Join Syria Airstrikes
There
are at least two European nations who remember that when it gets cold
in the winter, there is one country they call to provide the natural
gas they need for heating.
12
April, 2018
One
of them is Germany, which realizing that any strike on Syria would
further jeopardize its relationship with the Kremlin, said
that it will not join any military strikes against Syria in response
to the alleged chemical gas attack on an opposition enclave which
Russia claims was a "white helmet" false flag,
but all too diplomatically supports Western efforts to show the use
of chemical weapons is unacceptable, Chancellor Angela Merkel said.
"Germany
will not take part in possible - there have not been any decisions
yet, I want to stress that - military action," Merkel
said according
to Reuters after
meeting Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen in Berlin. "But
we support everything that is being done to show that the use of
chemical weapons is not acceptable," she added.
Of
course, Merkel could have simply said "we are happy to do
anything except whatever puts us on Putin's black list: the rest of
you can do that."
Meanwhile
in Dublin, Germany's new Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Germany
expects to be consulted before any Western allies conduct an attack
on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces as the allies must be
united on the matter.
Earlier,
Merkel spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron about the
suspected gas attack and expressed her concern that the international
community's ability to ban chemical weapons was eroding, her
spokesman said. Norbert Roettgen, chairman of the German
parliamentary foreign affairs committee and an ally of Merkel's,
said: "Shamefully, there is still no policy from the EU - or
even individual EU states - for the Middle (East) countries.
"If
it came to military strikes with the participation of France and
Britain, that is still not a policy."
Amusingly,
instead of focusing on the nature of the schism between Germany and
its allies, Europe's most powerful nation deflect to the lack of a
coherent European policy on the matter: an easy excuse in a continent
in which there is virtually no cohesion on any matter:
Roettgen urged the European Union to develop a policy for the Middle East as a whole, adding: "Germany should work together with others for a Middle East peace conference. We have various diplomatic options to not let the topic rest."
He called for a "step-by-step approach", which could start with humanitarian access in Syria. "The situation is so burdened with multiple conflicts that one can only proceed gradually."
Asked about such a conference, Merkel told reporters: "We know a lot of things are linked in the Middle East, no question, but now we must urgently deal with a situation where there is a lot of evidence that the Syrian regime again used chemical weapons."
Another
option floated by Germany would be to use what oil-importing leverage
Europe has over Iran to pressure Syria. Roettgen said Europe could
talk to Iran in connection with its 2015 nuclear deal with world
powers, which Trump has criticised as "the worst deal ever
negotiated".
Iran needed to understand that its economic prospects would be constrained if it "pursues a permanent bellicose expansion of power," he said, adding Turkey should be told "there cannot be a warrant for warfare in Syria."
In
other words, Europe would stop importing Iranian oil (for Euros) if
Tehran refused to betray its Syrian friends.
"But
there is no country - neither the U.S. nor a European country - that
is taking the initiative. That's the shameful thing about Western
politics," Roettgen said.
* *
*
The
other country, which moments after Germany said would not participate
any Syrian strikes, said it took would refuse to participate in any
military action against Russia Assad, was
Italy:
- ITALY WILL NOT TAKE PART IN ANY MILITARY ACTION IN SYRIA
However,
just like Germany...
- ITALY WOULD PROVIDE LOGISTICAL SUPPORT TO ALLIES -PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE
Which
means that the two nations that will lead the attack on Syria when it
inevitable comes - whether with or without the US - will be the UK,
whose subs are already on location off the coast of Syria, and most
likely France
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