Bucharest, on the situation in Syria
Romania voices its solidarity with the West after the operation in Syria, carried out in response to the Douma chemical attack blamed on Damascus
Florentin Căpitănescu, 16.04.2018, 13:00
The President of
Romania Klaus Iohannis and the Romanian Foreign Ministry did not hesitate to
express the country’s position with respect to the Western operation in Syria,
this past weekend, initiated a week after the chemical attack in Douma that
Damascus is thought to have orchestrated. Shortly after the joint operation of
the USA, UK and France, President Iohannis reiterated Romania’s solidarity with
the actions of its strategic partners. Romania once again condemns the use of
chemical weapons in Syria, which, the President said, is unacceptable. In turn,
the Foreign Ministry describes the West’s move as a firm reaction to the
atrocities that made so many victims among civilians in Douma, who are already
struggling with the devastation caused by a war that must be ended as soon as
possible.
Bucharest
reiterates the need for a solution to the conflict in Syria, which caused
suffering among civilians, and says it is vital for all parties to continue to
support actively the UN actions designed to put an end to this crisis. The
Foreign Ministry also argues that the chemical attack must be investigated
immediately, independently and impartially, and requests that the perpetrators
be held liable.
The French
Defence Minister Florence Parly has stated that the targets of the operation in
Damascus were the main research centre and two production centres that are part
of Bashar al-Assad regime’s clandestine chemical weapons programme. After the
operation, the US President Donald Trump used the phrase mission accomplished,
while Washington’s representative at the UN, Nikki Haley, told an emergency
meeting of the Security Council that the US was ready for new strikes, in the
event of another chemical attack in Syria.
In turn, British
PM Theresa May said there had been no alternatives to a military strike, and
described the Western operation as limited and targeted.
Meanwhile,
international experts working with the Organisation for the Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons Sunday has initiated an investigation into the presumed
chemical attack in Douma, which killed scores of people. Fieldwork will likely
be difficult, as investigators are expected to conduct their research, a week
after the events, in an area under the control of Damascus authorities and of
the Russian military police and devastated by a 5-year long siege.
According to the
World Health Organisation, nearly 500 people in Douma have symptoms consistent
with exposure to toxic chemicals. (Translated by Ana Maria Popescu)
