Bolivian UN envoy asks U.S. to refrain from military action against Syria

UNITED NATIONS, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Bolivian ambassador to the United Nations Sacha Llorenti on Thursday asked the United States to refrain from military action against Syria.

"Our message to the U.S. government is for them to comply with international law, to at least first have a complete investigation of what happened, then ask the Security Council to adopt any measures that should be applied after that investigation," Llorenti, whose delegation requested consultations of the Security Council on the situation in Syria, told reporters.

He said he wanted all the 15 members of the council to agree that the UN Charter should be respected.

Asked what specific provisions of the charter he wanted the council members to respect, Llorenti said: "No unilateral action should be taken; any use of force should be approved by the Security Council."

He said unilateral action against Syria would be considered illegal by the whole UN system.

The Bolivian delegation requested Thursday morning's closed-door consultations after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to launch a missile attack against Syria at reports of chemical weapons use in the country. Enditem