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News ID: 38288
Publish Date : 11 April 2017 - 22:49

‘U.S. Missile Attack on Syria May Lead to Nuclear War’




WASHINGTON (Dispatches) – A lawmaker in the Russian lower house of the parliament, the State Duma, has vehemently condemned the recent U.S. missile strikes on Syria, warning that the military aggression risks a nuclear war.
"This act goes far beyond just Syria, because, clearly, Russia supports the legal Syrian government and takes part to a certain scale in this conflict. Therefore, such strikes are an act not just against Syria, but also against Russia," Mikhail Yemelyanov said.
"Moreover, when Americans were striking the airport, they didn't know if our citizens were there or not. So, this situation may lead at least to a repetition of the 'Cuban Missile Crisis' which almost pushed the world onto the edge of a nuclear war,” he added.
The Pentagon said 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from two warships in the Mediterranean Sea at the Shayrat airfield in Syria’s central province of Homs on April 7. U.S. officials claim that the Khan Shaykhun chemical assault had been launched from the military site.
Syria has also categorically denied carrying out the gas attack, with the foreign minister stressing that an Idlib airstrike had targeted a depot, where terrorists stored chemical weapons.
At least nine people were killed in the early morning strike on the Syrian airfield, according to Syria’s official news agency, SANA.
Yemelyanov dismissed as "lies” the accusations that the Syrian government had been responsible for the chemical incident in the town of Khan Shaykhun, which reportedly left over 80 people dead, on April 4.
The White House says the U.S. is open to the possibility of further missile strikes in Syria.
"The sight of people being gassed and blown away by barrel bombs ensures that if we see this kind of action again, we hold open the possibility of future action," said White House spokesman Sean Spicer on Monday.