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Lavrov tells Tillerson attack on Syria plays in extremists' hands

Overnight to April 7, following an order from the U.S. President Donald Trump, the U.S. armed forces fired a total of 59 Tomahawk subsonic cruise missiles on a military airfield in Syria

MOSCOW, April 8. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a phone call that an attack on Syria plays in the hands of extremists, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday after the phone call from Tillerson.

The top diplomats "discussed the situation in Syria after the US Army’s strikes on Syrian forces overnight to April 7," the Russian foreign ministry said. "Sergei Lavrov underscored that an attack on the country which government battles terrorism merely plays in the hands of extremists and creates additional threats for regional and global security."

"The minister noted that the allegations Syrian government forces used chemical weapons in Idlib on April 4 are untrue," the ministry said. He "emphasized that facts should be established in a thorough, impartial and professional manner in relation to that incident."

"The top diplomats agreed to continue talks on the Syria crisis in person at their meeting," the Russian foreign ministry said.

Overnight to April 7, following an order from the U.S. President Donald Trump, the U.S. armed forces fired a total of 59 Tomahawk subsonic cruise missiles on a military airfield in Syria’s Homs Governorate. The strike came as a response to the chemical attack in Idlib on April 4 and targeted what Washington claims was a starting location for the attack.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the airstrike left four Syrian servicemen dead, two missing and four injured. Syria’s governmental SANA news agency said six people died, but later reported the deaths of nine civilians. On that day, the ministry said, the Syrian air force bombarded shops, where the militants produced ammunition with poisonous substances, what were supplied to Iraq and used in Aleppo.