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EU reiterates political solution to Syrian conflict

Xinhua, April 8, 2017 Adjust font size:

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini on Friday said in a statement that the European Union (EU) firmly believes that there can be no military solution to the conflict in Syria.

She made the remarks on behalf of the EU on the U.S. strike in Syria.

"The U.S. has informed the European Union that ... they launched a strike on Shayrat Airfield in Syria with the understandable intention to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons," Mogherini said.

She added that the EU will continue to support the efforts and work of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), in particular in Syria, including the OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism, with regard to the investigation of the use of chemical weapons.

The EU will also support the UN-mediated intra-Syrian talks in Geneva to reach a political solution to the Syrian conflict.

The U.S. military on Thursday launched a targeted missile strike at a Syrian military airfield in its first direct assault on the Syrian army since the 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 chemical weapon 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