Donald Trump: 'Missiles will be coming' following Syria 'chemical' attack

Donald Trump has told Russia ‘missiles will be coming’ as part of the US response to a suspected chemical attack by the Assad regime in the Syrian town of Douma.

The US President tweeted: “Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and ‘smart!'”

The tweet went on: “You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!

The Syrian government has said threats from the US are “reckless” and endanger international peace and security. Russian military police would enter Douma on Thursday, the Russian defence ministry said.

Shortly after the first tweet, Mr Trump sent a second one saying the relationship between the US and Russia was “worse now than it has ever been, and that includes the Cold War”.

He wrote: “There is no reason for this. Russia needs us to help with their economy, something that would be very easy to do, and we need all nations to work together. Stop the arms race?”

The Russian Foreign Ministry responded saying “smart missiles” should be aimed at terrorists, and not at the Syrian government.

“Smart missiles should fly towards terrorists, and not towards the lawful government which has been fighting international terrorism on its territory for several years,” Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, wrote on Facebook.

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The US, UK, France and allies have been weighing up retaliatory action after an alleged chemical attack on the Syrian town of Douma on Saturday, which is believed to have killed 40 people and left more than 500 – mostly women and children – injured.

The Syrian government denies responsibility for the attack but on Monday Mr Trump said he had little doubt that Syrian government forces were to blame.

Prime Minister Theresa May also said all the indications were that the Syrian authorities were responsible for the attack.

“The chemical weapons attack that took place on Saturday in Douma in Syria was a shocking and barbaric act,” Mrs May said. “The use of chemical weapons cannot go unchallenged.

“All the indications are that the Syrian regime was responsible.”

The Prime Minister, however, sidestepped questions over whether Parliament would be recalled and whether there would be a vote on military action.

The Guardian reported that Syrian planes had been flown to Russian air bases while senior Syrian government officials had been moved to safe houses in anticipation of a possible strike.

“We are attentively tracking the situation unfolding around Syria and in the whole region,” the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement.

The US President, who cancelled a foreign trip to deal with the crisis, has previously said the attack would be “met forcefully” but had not given a time-frame for any retaliatory action.

He has been in consultations with Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron about possible military strikes in Syria.

Russia has urged the US to avoid taking military action, warning Washington that it will: “bear responsibility” for any “illegal military adventure”.

Moscow’s ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzia, said: “I would once again beseech you to refrain from the plans that you’re currently developing”.

The comments by Trump are unusual to say the least, partly because he has previously criticised previous presidents for telling their enemies a planned response.

During an interview on Fox Friends 12 months ago, he said: “I don’t want to telegraph what I am doing or what I am thinking.

“I am not like other administrations, where they say, ‘We are going to do this in four weeks.’ It doesn’t work that way. We’ll see what happens.”

The Pentagon has said it doesn’t comment on plans for military action.

The Syrian government branded the threats “reckless” and said they endanger international peace and security.

The foreign ministry said Washington is using the alleged attack to target Syria and the threats are hindering the government’s efforts to fight “terrorism”.

Syria and its ally Russia have rejected allegations by activists and rescuers that a chemical attack on the rebel-held town of Douma over the weekend killed more than 40 people.

A statement via state media said: “We are not surprised by this reckless escalation from a regime like the one in the United States, which has and continues to sponsor terrorism in Syria.”

It added that recent statements from Washington “show (the Trump administration) lacks not only principles and values but also wisdom and logic and that in itself endangers international peace and security”.

“The pretext of a chemical attack has become well known to everybody and is a flimsy and unsubstantiated excuse to target Syria,” the statement said.

(Top picture: AP)