The war drums are pounding over Syria. And U.S. officials like UN Ambassador Nikki Haley are making clear that the coming American war against Syria could result in military consequences for its two primary allies, Russia and Iran. A top Russian official is now saying that any offensive U.S. military action against Syria will be met with equal retaliation from Moscow.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov responded to ongoing U.S. tough talk against Syria during a joint press conference with German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel in Krasnodar, Russia, on Wednesday.
Lavrov called into question the veracity of U.S. evidence that Syrian leader Bashar Assad has, and plans to use, chemical weapons in his country’s ongoing civil war.
“They should not create excuses for more attacks against the Syrian army that is fighting terrorists,” he said.
Russian and Syrian officials maintain that the majority of rebels in Syria belong to ISIS-affiliated groups and that Assad’s ouster will turn the country into an ISIS stronghold.
The ISIS rebels, Lavrov said, could easily fool U.S. intelligence officials into believing Assad is using chemical weapons by staging false flag attacks.
“We’ve heard multiple times that the U.S. has a smoking gun, but they cannot share it with us because they cannot compromise their sources and methods,” he said. “Well, I’m not really interested in hearing those statements anymore.”
If the U.S. insists on attacking Syria, Lavrov suggested that the Pentagon can count on Russian retaliation.
“We will react with dignity, proportionally to the real situation that may develop,” he said.
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqDgCVXrOYQ