DAMASCUS, April 15. /TASS/. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has spoken highly of the Soviet-made weapons involved in thwarting the missile strike on Syria carried out by the US, the UK and France, member of Russia’s State Duma (lower house of parliament) Sergei Zheleznyak said on Sunday following meeting between Russian lawmakers and the Syrian president.
"From the president’s point of view, that was an act of aggression, and we share that stance. He spoke highly of Russian weapons, which turned out to be superior to the aggressors’ weapons," Zheleznyak said.
"Yesterday we saw the American aggression, and we were able to counter it with Soviet missiles manufactured in the 1970s. The American films have shown since the 1990s that Russian-made weapons are ‘backward.’ However, today we can see who is really lagging behind," Russian lawmaker Dmitry Sablin quoted Assad as saying.
Strike on Syria
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 a total of 100 cruise and air-to-surface missiles had been fired (while 59 missiles were fired at the Shayrat Airbase last year), most of them were shot down by Syria’s air defense units upon approaching their targets.
The United States, the UK and France said the strikes were a response to an alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria’s Douma.
A number of non-governmental organizations, including the White Helmets, earlier said chemical weapons had been used in Douma, Eastern Ghouta, on April 7. The Russian Foreign Ministry dismissed these reports as fake news. Moreover, the Russian Defense Ministry pointed out that the White Helmets are notorious for spreading falsified information.
On April 9, officers from the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria visited Douma but found no trace of chemical weapons use there.