Russia to swiftly respond to any attacks on its military

A hypothetical attack on Russian military facilities in Syria would elicit an immediate response, lower house defense committee deputy chair Yury Shvytkin told Sputnik on Tuesday.

There will be no words but just actions should anyone dare attack Russian military facilities in Syria, the senior lawmaker said.

He said measures taken after the US missile strike on a Syrian airfield last week "were in my opinion sufficient, at least in light of what we can do within the framework of international legal relations for the Syrian army to react itself."

On April 7, the United States launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian military airfield in Ash Sha’irat. US President Donald Trump said that the attack was a response to the alleged chemical weapon use in Syria's Idlib province on April 4, which resulted in the death of over 80 people, an incident which Washington blames on the Syrian government.

The Syrian foreign minister denied the government’s involvement in the Idlib incident, saying it had never nor would it ever use chemical weapons on either civilians or terrorists operating in the country.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on April 5 that the airstrike near Khan Shaykhun by the Syrian air force hit a terrorist warehouse that stored chemical weapons slated for delivery to Iraq, and called on the UN Security Council to launch a proper investigation into the incident.

Source: MENA