May convenes war Cabinet as Syria airstrikes loom
Theresa May will hold an emergency meeting of her Cabinet this afternoon as the probability of UK action against Syria looms.
Ministers will gather at 3:30pm today to discuss options, with several of them, including foreign secretary Boris Johnson, thought to approve of intervention. It is thought the Prime Minister will not recall parliament to put any move to a vote, despite her predecessor David Cameron having done so in 2013.
Tensions between Russia and the West ramped up a notch yesterday as US President Donald Trump told Russia to “get ready” for a missile strike on Syria, saying “they will be coming”.
Trump is expected to imminently announce military intervention after the Syrian regime, which is backed by President Putin, was accused of carrying out a chemical attack in Douma, just outside Damascus.
“Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria,” Trump tweeted. “Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and smart! You shouldnt be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!”
Trump followed that up an hour later with a less aggressive tweet.
“Our relationship with Russia is worse now than it has ever been, and that includes the Cold War. There is no reason for this,” he wrote. “Russia needs us to help with their economy, something that would be very easy to do, and we need all nations to work together. Stop the arms race?”
A Kremlin spokesperson responded: “We do not participate in Twitter diplomacy. We continue to believe that it is important not to take steps that could harm an already fragile situation.”
However, on Tuesday night Russias ambassador to Lebanon said any US missiles fired at Syria would be shot down and the launch sites targeted.
Theresa May declined to comment on Trumps tweet, but said the use of chemical weapons was a “humanitarian catastrophe” that “cannot go unchallenged”.
The PM said “all the indications” pointed towards the Syrian regime being behind a “shocking, barbaric act” in the town of Douma. “We are rapidly reaching an understanding of what happened on the ground,” she added.
Markets, already adapting to the latest wave of sanctions against Russian companies, were spooked by rising tensions, with oil prices rocketing to their highest point since December 2014.
So far May has acted with caution, avoiding any explicit commitment to support airstrikes although Trump and his French counterpart appear ready to act.
Given that both countries were quick to back the UK following the Salisbury attack, analysts expect a coalition to form in favour of military action against Syrian targets.
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CityAM
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