DAMASCUS – The Russian military said on Wednesday it was closely watchingthe situation around Syria and was aware of the movements of a US navalstrike force headed for the Gulf.
The US Navy said on Tuesday that the strike group, headed by the aircraftcarrier USS Harry S. Truman, would set sail for the Middle East and Europeon Wednesday.
The Russian military said the U.S. strike force was due to arrive in theMiddle East at the start of May.
“We are attentively tracking the situation unfolding around Syria and inthe whole region,” the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement.
It also reacted to a warning of imminent military action in Syria from USPresident Donald Trump.
“Instead of talking about the coalition’s readiness to fire missiles atSyria, the United States would do better to rebuild the destroyed city (ofRaqqa) and provide wide-ranging help to its suffering population,” theministry said in a statement.
It repeated its assertion that a suspected chemical weapons attack carriedout in the Syrian town of Douma had been faked by the “White Helmets”organisation, rejecting Western allegations that Syrian government forceswere responsible for it.
Russian military police would enter Douma on Thursday, the ministry said.