Russia warned the West against intervening in Syria unilaterally, one day after President Obama said that any use or movement of chemical weapons would be “red line” for the U.S., Reuters reports.
Speaking at press conference in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said his country and ally China were committed to “the need to strictly adhere to the norms of international law,” saying it would not allow the West to “violate” such laws through military action.
Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Qadri Jamil, also in Moscow, did not seem threatened by Obama’s warning on Monday, saying the consequences of intervention would be grave for the U.S.
“Direct military intervention in Syria is impossible because whoever thinks about it ... is heading towards a confrontation wider than Syria’s borders,” he said, according to Reuters.
There have already been reports of a spill-over of Syrian violence into Lebanon.
On Monday, Obama said there would be “enormous consequences” for President Bashar al-Assad’s regime if chemical or biological weapons were used against its people or even moved in a menacing fashion.
“I have at this point not ordered military engagement in the situation, but the point that you made about chemical and biological weapons is critical,” Obama said at a press conference.
Violence, meanwhile, grips the war-torn nation, as dozens were killed on Monday in a suburb of the capital city of Damascus.
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