NATO chief says Syrian gov't bears responsibility for U.S. strike

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday said the Syrian government "bears the full responsibility" for the U.S. strike in Syria.

Stoltenberg said in a statement that the United States launched a strike on the Shayrat Airfield in Syria "following this week's horrendous chemical weapons attacks in Khan Shaykhun."

"Any use of chemical weapons is unacceptable, cannot go unanswered, and those responsible must be held accountable," he said.

Stoltenberg also reaffirmed that NATO supports all international efforts aimed at achieving peace and a political solution in Syria.

The U.S. military on Thursday launched a targeted missile strike at a Syrian military airfield in its first direct assault on the army of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since Syrian crisis began six years ago.

The strike was ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump, said a Pentagon statement, adding that the assault was in response to the alleged Syrian government's chemical weapons attack on Tuesday in the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun, which killed over 70 people and wounded scores of others, most of whom were civilians. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said early on Thursday that the Syrian airstrike on a rebel-held town in Idlib Province struck a rebel depot containing chemical materials, denying that the air force fired toxic gas during the attack.

Moscow considers the U.S. missile strike as an "aggression against a sovereign state" under a far-fetched pretext, saying it violates international law, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday.

The Syrian presidential office slammed the U.S. missile attack on a Syrian airbase as "reckless and irresponsible." In a statement, the presidential office said the attack reflects the "narrow vision and political and military blindness by the United States regarding reality." Endit