Russian, Syrian FMs discuss Syrian situation

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Moallem discussed the Syrian situation during a meeting here Thursday, Russia's news agency TASS reported Friday.

"The settling situation is going through a difficult period, and today's meeting is very timely," Lavrov was quoted as saying by TASS.

Lavrov pointed to the provocative U.S. strike against the Syrian airbase al-Sharyat, adding that the hysteria on the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria should not undermine the efforts on settling the conflict in the framework of the processes in Astana and Geneva.

"Attempts are underway to undermine the ceasefire regime, agreed on in Astana and welcomed in the United Nations (UN) Security Council," Lavrov said.

He also said the attack was fully discussed at a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and they reached an understanding that an attack should not be allowed to be repeated.

Lavrov said Russia has prevented the repetition of U.S. aggression. However, he did not exclude that there might be more attempts at aggressive acts.

On April 6, the United States launched 59 cruise missiles at a Syrian military airfield, located in the Syrian province of Homs, in response to what U.S. President Donald Trump called a "horrible chemical weapons attack" in the Syrian city of Idlib.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has denounced the U.S. strike as an "aggression against a sovereign state in violation of the norms of international law." Endi