12.09 Putin Uses NYT Op-Ed to Warn US Against Syria Strike
MOSCOW, September 12 (RIA Novosti) - A potential US strike on Syria is fraught with dangerous consequences, Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned in an op-ed he wrote for the New York Times.
Washington is currently contemplating a strike on Syria as retaliation for a deadly August 21 chemical weapons attack in a Damascus suburb, which it has attributed to the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Official Damascus has blamed the attack on rebel forces, and Russia has tentatively backed its long-time ally, while calling for further investigation.
"Recent events surrounding Syria have prompted me to speak directly to the American people and their political leaders. It is important to do so at a time of insufficient communication between our societies," Putin said in the op-ed, entitled "A Plea for Caution from Russia," which was posted on the US newspaper's website Wednesday.
The potential strike by the United States against Syria, despite strong opposition from many countries and major political and religious leaders, including the pope, will result in more innocent victims and escalation, potentially spreading the conflict far beyond Syrias borders, he said.
A strike would increase violence and unleash a new wave of terrorism. It could undermine multilateral efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear problem and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and further destabilize the Middle East and North Africa, Putin wrote.
