US President Donald Trump warned Russia on Wednesday, 11 April, of imminent military action in Syria over a suspected poison gas attack, declaring that missiles "will be coming". He lambasted Moscow for standing by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Trump was reacting to a warning from Assad's main ally Russia on Tuesday that any US missiles fired at Syria over the deadly assault on a rebel enclave would be shot down and the launch sites targeted.
"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!’," Trump wrote in a post on Twitter.
"You shouldn't be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!" Trump said, referring to Moscow's alliance with Assad.
In response, Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a Facebook post that "smart missiles should fly towards terrorists, not towards the lawful government", referring to Syrian rebels and Assad, respectively.
By warning Russia on Twitter in front of his 50.3 million followers, Trump seems to have forgotten his own words that the element of surprise is “sooooo important” in war.
“Why Can't We Just Be Quiet” And Attack: Trump in 2013
Donald Trump’s views on dealing with the Syria conflict seemed different when Barack Obama was the US President and his tweets from four years ago are a testament to that.
While on Wednesday, Trump warned Russia to “get ready”, back in August 2013 the real estate mogul expressed anger at the Obama administration for “broadcasting when we are going to attack Syria”.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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