Until Thursday, April 6, Russian President Vladimir Putin was the best friend forever of U.S. President Donald Trump. The billionaire was never critical of the former Russian spy, while Putin even defended Trump from allegations of receiving “golden showers” from prostitutes.
Syrian chemical attack
However, all that changed when Syrian soldiers used on Tuesday sarin gas which resulted in the death of 73 people, including 23 children.
Trump made an 180-degree turn on Syrian policy. He authorized U.S. strikes on Syria by unleashing on Friday cruise missile strikes which did not sit well with Putin who has considered Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as his staunch ally, Fortune reported.
Putin immediately condemned the American missile strike as an “act of aggression against a sovereign country,” USA Today reported. Besides accusing Trump of breaching the norms of international law, Putin also suspended a U.S.-Russian agreement signed in 2015 on flight safety over Syria to avoid accidental clashes between the armed forces of the two superpowers.
Steak dinner with Xi at Mar-a-Lago
On the same day that Trump ordered the air strikes on Syria, it was also when the U.S. president hosted a dinner for the Chinese president. The two national leaders, who used to be at loggerheads over the occupation by China of disputed South China Sea islands and the Asian giant stealing jobs from American workers, enjoyed a state dinner of dry-aged steak and whipped potatoes.
Although Trump joked to media that after a lengthy discussion with Xi Jinping, they “have gotten nothing,” but he admitted they “developed a friendship.” The newfound friendship, though, would be tested when they go beyond pleasantries and tackle the firing by North Korea of missiles directed at Japan.
But it would be strengthened with a planned state visit by Trump to Beijing.
Syria has no chemical weapon
Because Trump and Putin used to have good relations, Moscow hoped to cooperate with Washington in jointly battling a common enemy, the ISIS, which just called Trump an idiot. Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesperson, said Trump’s action angered Kremlin.
“Washington’s step will inflict significant damage on U.S.-Russia ties,” Peskov said. He added that Russia does not believe that Syria has chemical weapons and the missile firing would likely block the creation of an international coalition to fight terrorism. He added Moscow would seek for the U.N. Security Council to hold an urgent meeting to discuss the U.S. move.