Russian senator Frants Klintsevich said that the United States is planning another air strike on Syria. According to the Russian lawmaker, the imminent attack aim would be to destroy Syrian installations suspected of housing chemical weapons.
How accurate is the threat?
In an interview with news agency Sputnik News, Klintsevich, who is also the First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, stated that the United States fears Assad will again use chemical attacks. He added that due to such fear, the U.S. Military is preparing a new strike on key positions, which he termed as cynical and unprecedented provocation.
CBS News later reported the statement of Kremlin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov, which also reiterated the senator's warning that indeed the U.S. is planning another missile strike against Assad. He added that this is an unacceptable threat to the Syrian government.
Russia is heavily invested in Syria and can't afford U.S. interference in the country's affairs. The Russian government had warned the United States last month that any U.S. aircraft or vehicle that attacks Assad's troops will be treated as "targets" that can be intercepted. Russian solid support of Assad's government made it possible for the regime to remain in power despite six years of civil war.
The Pro-Assad government stated that the imminent attack is another manipulation of the United States to justify attacking Syrian bases and to halt the rapid advance of Assad's troops into ISIS-held territories.
However, despite such opposition to Assad's rule, Moscow had stated that they will guarantee the regime's existence and Syria's right to be free from U.S. manipulations.
What is the reaction of the United States?
According to a report from the White House, the United States had acquired information about Assad's preparation for another chemical attack.
This is after the horrendous Nerve gas attack on the rebel town of Khan Sheikhoun, which resulted in hundreds of deaths and forced a U.S. strike on Assad's air base. The same pretext is being used as a justification for another strike, which Russia highly condemns.
There are still no comments from the Pentagon about the Russian senator's statements, especially now that White House press briefings are no longer aired lived.
As of the moment, the U.S. coalition of Kurdish-Syrian rebels managed to lift the ISIS stranglehold of Raqqa and pockets of resistance are slowly mopped up.
However, the major news is the fall of Deir Ezzor region which is a strategic area that connects the U.S. base of Al-Tanf and the forces in Raqqa. With the Syrian government taking hold of the Deir Ezzor region, the U.S. led coalition can't merge into on continuous front, making any coordinated movement from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) a complicated task.
