WASHINGTON _ As President Donald Trump ponders retaliatory military action in Syria, his envoy to the United Nations on Friday laid out a forceful argument Friday for reining in the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Ambassador Nikki Haley addressed the U.N. Security Council in emergency session ahead of a vote called by Russia to attempt to block U.S. action.
"Washington has adopted a categorical policy to unleash a military scenario against Syria," the Russian ambassador to the U.N., Vasilly Nebenzia, told the council. "This cannot be tolerated."
Russia backs Assad government in a brutal civil war, and has given it the upper military hand against rebels and opponents, some of which are supported by the United States.
Haley accused Russia of "lies and cover-ups" as it tried to conceal what the U.S. and allies say was an Assad-directed chemical weapons attack last Saturday on Douma, a rebel-held suburb of Damascus. More than 40 people, including children, were reported killed.
"We all know who did this," Haley said. "This is not the first, second, third or 49th time" Assad has used chemical weapons against his people, but the 50th incident since the civil war in Syria started in 2011, she said.
"I am in awe you can say what you say with a straight face," Haley said, directing her comments to Nebenzia.
Syria and Russia have denied that the attack involved chemical weapons. U.S. officials have yet to determine precisely what was used, but suspect that a banned nerve agent like sarin was mixed with chlorine.
Earlier this week, Russia vetoed a U.S.-drafted Security Council resolution to launch an independent investigation of the attack in Syria. Fact-finding teams from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons are scheduled to visit Douma on Saturday to investigate the incident.
