Israel, UK and Turkey welcome US strikes against Syria regime as 'positive'
Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday he supports the "strong and clear message" sent by a US strike in neighbouring Syria in retaliation for a suspected chemical attack.
"In both word and action, President (Donald) Trump sent a strong and clear message today that the use and spread of chemical weapons will not be tolerated," a statement from Netanyahu's office said.
"Israel fully supports President Trump's decision and hopes that this message of resolve in the face of the Assad regime's horrific actions will resonate not only in Damascus, but in Tehran, Pyongyang and elsewhere."
Meanwhile, Turkey welcomed the US air strike on a Syrian airbase early Friday as a "positive" move and urged the international community to maintain its stance against the "barbarism" of President Bashar al-Assad.
"We welcome this as positive but... we believe that the Assad regime must be punished completely in the international arena," Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told Turkey's Fox TV in an interview, quoted by state-run news agency Anadolu.
"The international community must maintain its stance clearly against this barbarism," said Kurtulmus, who is also government spokesman.
Similarly, Britain's government "fully supports" US strikes against a Syrian air base launched after a suspected chemical attack on Tuesday, a spokesman said.
"The UK government fully supports the US action, which we believe was an appropriate response to the barbaric chemical weapons attack launched by the Syrian regime," the spokesman said in a statement on Friday. He also said the US strikes were "intended to deter further attacks".
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Tuesday said the attack bore "all the hallmarks" of action by government forces and called for those responsible to be "called to account".
Britain is a leading member of the US-led 68-country coalition fighting against the Islamic State jihadist group in Syria and Iraq.
Trump ordered the massive military strike on a Syrian airbase on Thursday in retaliation for the "barbaric" chemical attack he blamed on President Bashar al-Assad.
The US strike follows international outrage this week over the suspected chemical attack that killed dozens of civilians, including many children, in the rebel-held northwestern Syrian town of Khan Sheikhun.
