PRESS RELEASE
Putin Warns of New Syria Provocations, Lays Blame on Obama
April 11, 2017 (EIRNS)—Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that new provocations by terrorists using chemical weapons are being planned to put the blame on Syria. He also took an interesting swipe against former President Barack Obama as responsible for the international support for the U.S. strike against Syria.
In a joint press conference with visiting Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Putin warned:
"We have information from different sources that these provocations—I cannot call them otherwise—are being prepared in other regions of Syria, including in the southern suburbs of Damascus, where there are plans to throw some substance and accuse the official Syrian authorities,"
Putin said.
Putin said the U.S. strike against Syria reminded him of its attack on Iraq in 2003, when the United States launched a military campaign under the unproven pretext of Baghdad’s alleged possession of chemical weapons, Putin said.
"This [the U.S. strike on Syria] strongly reminds of the 2003 events when U.S. representatives in the UN Security Council showed allegedly chemical weapons found in Iraq,"
the Russian President said.
"After that, a military campaign started in Iraq and it ended with the destruction of the country, the growth of the terrorist threat, and the emergence of the ISIL [the former name of the Islamic State terrorist organization outlawed in Russia] on the international scene, no more and no less. The same is happening now,"
the Russian President said.
The Russian President also warned Trump tht his decision to launch missile strikes on Syria could be used by his political opponents. "If something happens, they will put the whole blame on him," Putin said. "I have no doubt about this."
