During his visit to Peru, US Vice President Mike Pence referred to the joint attack by the United States, Britain and France in Syria, asserting that Syria would have a “price to pay” if it carried out chemical weapons attacks in the future.
Speaking during a summit in Lima, Peru, Pence said President Donald Trump “made clear that the United States of America is prepared to sustain this effort to reestablish the deterrent framework that exists in order that the Syrian regime and its patrons know there will be a price to pay if chemicals weapons are used again against men, women and children.”
Last night, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan discussed the situation in Syria by phone, agreeing to boost efforts to solve the conflict in Syria, the Kremlin said on Saturday.
According to the Kremlin website, Putin said that the actions of “a group of Western states in Syria” violate international law as well as the rules of the United Nations.
The statements follow an attack by the United States, Britain, and France on Friday night on eight pre-selected targets in Syria, in response to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's recent use of chemical weapons against civilians in Douma.
US President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday: "A short time ago, I ordered the U.S. Armed Forces to launch precision strikes on targets associated with the chemical weapons capabilities of Syrian dictator, Bashar al-Assad. A combined operation with the armed forces of France and the United Kingdom is now underway."
Trump also noted that the US and its allies "are prepared to sustain this response until the Syrian regime stops its use of prohibited chemical agents."
Russia subsequently submitted a UN Security Council resolution condemning the attack which was overwhelmingly rejected by council members.
Russia's demand for condemnation and an immediate halt to "aggression" and "any further use of force" by the three Western allies got support from only two other countries on the 15-member Security Council - China and Bolivia.
By contrast, eight countries voted against the Russian draft - the U.S., UK, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Kuwait, Poland and Ivory Coast. Four countries abstained - Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Equatorial Guinea and Peru.