The United States, Britain and France have stepped up their military deployment in the Mediterranean Sea off the Syrian coast ahead of a possible strike in response to the Syrian regime’s chemical attack against the town of Douma over the weekend, Western diplomatic sources confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat on Thursday.
Despite expressing its readiness to get involved in military action against the regime, Paris, however, said it “wants to learn first where it would be putting its feet,” French official sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.
In other words, officials in the French capital are asking that the targets of the military action be “clear and specified,” a position that explains the “delay” of a strike against Syria.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump chaired a meeting of his national security team to discuss Syria, but no final decision was taken over a response to the chemical attack that left at least 40 people dead.
"No final decision has been made. We are continuing to asses intelligence and are engaged in conversations with our partners and allies," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said after the meeting.
Earlier, British Prime Minister Theresa May had agreed with Trump that “it was vital that the use of chemical weapons did not go unchallenged”
They also agree “on the need to deter the further use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime,” her office said in a statement after the two leaders spoke.
In Moscow, Kremlin adopted a calm rhetoric, sending a sign that Russia was ready to negotiate with Washington.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated communication between the Russian and American armed forces through military channels is active.
In New York, Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said the “immediate priority was to avert the danger of war,” hoping there will be no point of no return.
The ambassador said he could not rule out a war between the US and Russia.
Also on Thursday, investigators from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons began arriving in Syria to investigate the Douma chemical attack.
