Lajcak: US Attack in Syria an Effort to Prevent Use of Chemical Weapons

Bratislava, April 7 (TASR) – It’s undoubtable that chemical weapons were used in Syria in recent days and have caused the suffering and deaths of dozens of innocent people, including children, Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajcak (a Smer-SD nominee) said on Friday.

“In this context, we perceive the intervention carried out by the United States against the military infrastructure controlled by the Syrian regime as an effort to prevent the further use of chemical weapons in the future,” Lajcak said at a press conference.

Lajcak also underlined the need to ratchet up diplomatic efforts and lend support to processes underway, either in New York, Geneva or Astana, that are seeking a political resolution to the Syrian conflict. “The use of chemical weaponry is unacceptable. It is banned by international conventions, inexcusable also from a moral standpoint, and chemical weapons were, indeed, used in Syria. This must not happen again,” he claimed, adding that the EU should pose as a heavyweight and influential player in the process of seeking a peaceful solution.

According to US President Donald Trump, the missile attack at the Syrian Air Force base al-Shayrat, which was bombarded with Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from American ships stationed in the Mediterranean Sea, came in direct retaliation for Tuesday’s chemical attack that claimed the lives of almost 100 civilians. The United States and the West claim that the Government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad bears responsibility for the chemical attack.