Reaction in the Middle East and around the world to US missile strikes on Syria

Strong reactions from world leaders after the surprise attack by the US which launched nearly 60 Tomahwak cruise missiles on the government-controlled Shayrat airbase in Syria.

A satellite image of Shayrat airbase in Syria taken on October 7, 2016 released by the US department of defence showing the Syrian airbase which the US struck with a barrage of cruise missiles on April 7, 2017 in retaliation for this week’s gruesome chemical weapons attack against civilians. DigitalGlobe/US department of defence via APShow less

The US unleashed 59 cruise missiles on a Syrian airbase on Friday, hitting the government-controlled Shayrat airbase near Homs at about 3.45am Syrian time. The surprise attack drew strong reactions from the friends and foes of the Syrian government.

Russia

Moscow condemned the US strike as “aggression against a sovereign state” and suspended a bilateral agreement with Washington to prevent mid-air collisions in Syria’s crowded skies.

“President Putin considers American strikes on Syria aggression against a sovereign state in violation of international norms, and under an invented pretext,” the Kremlin said.

Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said he hoped the missile strikes on Syria would not irreparably damage relations between Moscow and Washington.

“This is an act of aggression on an absolutely made-up pretext,” Mr Lavrov said. He said Russia would demand an explanation from Washington.

Saudi Arabia

“Saudi Arabia fully supports the US military operations against military targets in Syria, which were a response to the regime’s use of chemical weapons against innocent civilians,” a foreign ministry official said.

The regime had only itself to blame after “odious crimes it had committed for years against the Syrian people”, he said.

He described Mr Trump as “courageous” for taking action when “the international community has failed to put a halt to the regime’s actions”.

Syrian rebels

Syrian rebel groups welcomed the US strike on Shayrat airbase and urged further action.

“Hitting one airbase is not enough. There are 26 airbases that target civilians,” a key figure in the Army of Islam faction, Mohamed Alloush, said on Twitter.

Other rebel groups welcomed the strike and called for continued military action against the regime.

Issam Raes, spokesman for the Southern Front rebel faction, said the strike was “the first step on the correct path to combating terrorism and we hope it will continue”.

“The message is political and the message has arrived to Russia and been understood,” he said.

Col Ahmed Osman of the Sultan Murad rebel group, which is backed by Turkey, said: “We welcome any action that will put an end to the regime, which is committing the worst crimes in history.”

Iran

Iran described the attack as “destructive and dangerous”.

“We condemn all unilateral military action and the missile strike by US warships against Shayrat airbase, under the pretext of Tuesday’s suspected attack on Khan Sheikhoun,” foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghassemi said.

Iran, with Russia, is the closest ally of the regime of president Bashar Al Assad and has provided money, weapons, military advisers and trainers, and volunteer militiamen to support it in the six-year civil war.

Turkey

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed the US strike but said more action was needed.

“Is it enough? I don’t see this as enough... the time has come for steps for a serious result to protect the oppressed Syrian people,” Mr Erdogan said in a rally near the Syrian border.

He reaffirmed his past calls the that international community needed to impose a safe zone in northern Syria backed by a no-fly zone.

Israel

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel fully supported the “strong and clear message” sent by the air strikes. He said the message should “resonate not only in Damascus, but in Tehran, Pyongyang and elsewhere”.

Bahrain

Bahrain’s foreign ministry said “such a step was needed to stop the bloodshed and prevent the proliferation or use of any banned weapons against innocent civilians”. The US stance came in support of efforts to end the Syrian crisis, the ministry said, calling on all parties to remain committed to maintaining the interest of the Syrian people.

France and Germany

“President Al Assad bears sole responsibility for this development,” German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Francois Hollande said on Friday.

“His repeated use of chemical weapons and his crimes against his own people call for sanctions, which France and Germany already demanded in the summer of 2013 after the massacre of Ghuta,” the site of an earlier chemical weapons attack.

“France and Germany, together with their partners and within the framework of the United Nations, will continue their efforts to hold president Al Assad responsible for his criminal deeds”.

European Union

The strikes on Syria showed “needed resolve against barbaric chemical attacks. EU will work with the US to end brutality in Syria”, EU president Donald Tusk tweeted.

United Kingdom

“The UK government fully supports the US action, which we believe was an appropriate response to the barbaric chemical weapons attack launched by the Syrian regime, and is intended to deter further attacks,” a British government spokesman said.

* Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Reuters and Wam