VIENNA, April 14. /TASS/. The missile strikes against Syria carried out by the US, the UK and France without the authorization of the UN Security Council are an act of aggression and violate international law, Russian Permanent Representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Alexander Lukashevich stated on Saturday.
"The United States, Britain and France have grossly violated the fundamental principles of international law, the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act by carrying out missile and bomb strikes on Syria’s sovereign soil. This is an act of aggression," Lukashevich said in a statement posted on the Russian Permanent Mission’s Twitter account.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the missile strike against Syria’s military and civilian infrastructures was carried out by US warplanes and naval ships in cooperation with the British and French air forces between 03:42 and 05:10 Moscow time on Saturday. The ministry reported that Syria’s air defense units had been able to shoot down 71 of 103 cruise missiles.
The United States, the UK and France said the strikes were a response to an alleged chemical weapons attack in Douma, a suburb of Syria’s capital.