Washington, April 13
The US is "not getting along with Russia at all" and the relations between the two countries "may be at an all-time low" , US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday.
Trump made the remark at a joint press conference with visiting NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House. It came shortly after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in Moscow that the US and Russia have reached a "low point" in relations, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Russian government has condemned the missile strikes by the United States on a Syrian airbase last Thursday, calling Washington's move "aggression against a sovereign state in violation of international law".
At Wednesday's press conference, Trump defended his decision to launch 59 missiles at the Syrian airbase in response to last weeks chemical attack in the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun in Syria's Idlib, that killed over 80 people and wounding scores of others.
"It can't be a worst sight. And it shouldn't be allowed. That's a butcher," Trump said. "So, I felt we had to do something about it. I have absolutely no doubt we did the right thing. And it was very, very successfully done."
Asked about Russia's prior knowledge about the Syrian government's alleged use of chemical weapons, Trump said it's "possible", but "unlikely" that Russia had known in advance of Syria's plan to launch a chemical weapons attack on its own citizens.
"I know they're doing investigations into that right now. I would like to think that they didn't know, but certainly they could have. They were there. So we'll find out," Trump said.
Stoltenberg said within the NATO alliance, the US military action on Syria has been met with understanding.
"Any use of chemical weapons is unacceptable, cannot go unanswered and those responsible must be held accountable," the NATO chief said.
Russia vetoes UN resolution on Syria chemical attack
Russia on Wednesday vetoed a UN resolution that would have required Bashar al-Assad's government to co-operate with international inquiries into last week's chemical attack in Syria.
It was the eighth time during Syria's six-year-old civil war that Russia has vetoed a proposed Security Council resolution on Syria, CNN reported.
Among the 15 council members, ten countries voted in favour of the resolution, while Bolivia joined council's veto-wielding power Russia in voting no.
China, which has vetoed six resolutions on Syria since the civil war began, abstained from the vote, along with Ethiopia and Kazakhstan.
The document drafted by the United Kingdom, France and the United States demanded the Syrian military to provide UN investigators with unfettered access to details of their operations on the day of the alleged attack, Xinhua news agency reported.
The text also condemned the reported use of chemical weapons and demanded a speedy investigation.
On April 4, a reported toxic gas attack hit the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun in Syria's Idlib, killing over 80 people and wounding scores of others.
Two days after, the United States launched 59 cruise missiles against the Shairat military base in central Syria, where from, according to the US, airplanes carrying chemical weapons took off.
Ahead of the vote, Russia's Deputy Representative to the UN Vladimir Safronkov told the council that putting the draft resolution into a vote did not serve a useful purpose.
Safronkov said Russia has proposed an independent international mission sent by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to visit Khan Sheikhoun and the Shairat airbase for investigations.
He said Russia hopes the US can give constructive response to this suggestion.
Numerous Western powers, including the United States, blamed the government of Bashar al-Assad of the attack.
The Syrian government denied possession of chemical weapons, while the Russian Defence Ministry accused Syrian rebels of producing toxic agents in a depot which exploded under a strike by Syrian warplanes and caused the contamination.
