President Donald Trump's national security adviser on Sunday left open the possibility of additional USA military action against Syria following last week's missile strike but indicated that the United States was not seeking to act unilaterally to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad. The United States blasted the air base with a barrage of cruise missiles in fiery retaliation for this week's gruesome chemical weapons attack against civilians.
Earlier on Friday, during a U.N. Security Council meeting-in which the Bolivian ambassador to the United Nations offered a vital history lesson-U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, who "seemed to be channeling George W. Bush even more than her actual boss", according to one observer, described the strikes as "a very measured step".
Trump, who is spending the weekend at his Florida resort, tweeted a brief explanation Saturday of why the military didn't strike the runways in its bombardment of the Syrian air field, writing, "they are easy and affordable to quickly fix (fill in and top)!"
Lavrov also reaffirmed Russia's position that accusations that the Syrian regime had launched a chemical weapons attack on the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhun last week "are not in line with reality". Johnson said Tillerson will be able to give a "clear and coordinated message to the Russians". He called the Assad government a main force against terrorism and said it deserved the presumption of innocence in the chemical weapons attack.
Iran, which has provided crucial military and political support to Assad, meanwhile called for a fact-finding mission to determine what caused the chemical attack in Khan Sheikhoun.
Boris Johnson cancelled the visit, scheduled for 10 April, on Saturday, saying events in Syria had changed priorities.
In Philadelphia, dozens of protesters marched against the strikes, with some carrying signs reading "U.S".
Trump spoke by telephone Friday with Saudi Arabia's King Salman, who reaffirmed strong support for the military strike and thanked the US president for his "courageous" action, according to statements issued Saturday by the White House and the official Saudi Press Agency.
North Korea threatens US
The U.S. responded to North Korea's launch on Saturday by rerouting warships on their way to Australia to the waters off Korea. The meeting was largely overshadowed by the US strike against a Syrian airbase in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack.
"We are asking for an impartial worldwide fact-finding body to be set up.to find out where these chemical weapons came from", Rohani said as he condemned the USA missile strikes as an "aggression". Mevlut Cavusoglu said Saturday that the USA intervention was only "cosmetic" unless it removes Assad from power.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who is supposed to visit Russian Federation next week, said he was "disappointed" but "not surprised" by Russia's angry reaction to the missile strikes.
The move was welcomed by the Syrian opposition and its main backers, including Turkey and Saudi Arabia, but harshly condemned by Russian Federation and Iran, who back Assad and said striking his forces would complicate the struggle against extremist groups. The groups Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently and Sound and Picture reported that the attack killed a woman and her six children.
Trump said the attack was meant to punish Syria for its use of chemical weapons against civilians in a deadly incident this week.
Johnson said Britain called on Russian Federation to do everything possible to bring about a "political settlement in Syria". The drone returned late in the day as citizens were going to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The officials, who insisted on anonymity in order to discuss the sensitive matter, said they believe the hospital attack may have been an effort to cover up evidence of the earlier assault.
The U.S. military has confirmed, the officials said, that Syrian regime aircraft were over the ancient town of 52,000 in northern Idlib province southwest of Aleppo, which until Tuesday's massacre was best known for its distinctive circular beehive houses. President Vladimir V. Putin's office called the Tomahawk cruise missile strike on Syria a violation of global law and a "significant blow" to the Russian-American relationship, while Prime Minister Dmitri A. Medvedev said it had "completely ruined" it.
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