April 20, 2018
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has claimed that Moscow dictated where U.S., British and French forces were allowed to attack in the weekend's airstrikes on suspected Syrian chemical weapons facilities, Sky News reported. Coalition forces destroyed three storage and production sites in response to an alleged April 7 chemical attack on civilians that killed at least 40 people in the rebel-held city of Douma, near Damascus. Russia, which supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, denies that a chemical attack took place. Investigators from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons are trying to reach Douma to establish what happened, but are struggling to gain access.
According to Lavrov, Russia had been in contact with the coalition in the days leading up to the attack, dictating its “red lines” beyond which airstrikes would be considered unacceptable. Russian officials had previously warned that any attacks on Syrian territory would result in Russian retaliation. The U.S. and Russia use a so-called “deconfliction” telephone line communication channel to avoid accidental clashes in Syria. The country has become a congested war zone, where multiple nations are fielding forces to pursue differing interests. It is likely the line was used in the run-up to the weekend’s attacks, but for the two sides to be discussing the acceptability of specific targets would be unusual.