Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has fiercely rebuked U.S. President Donald Trump for authorizing airstrikes against a government airbase in Syria. The comment appeared on Medvedev’s Facebook page. The Moscow Times has translated the text into English:
“That’s it. The last of the campaign fog has disappeared. Instead of the theory he disseminated about working together to fight the main enemy — ISIS, the Islamic State — the Trump administration has proved that it will viciously fight the legitimate government of Syria — in blatant violation of the norms of international law, without the approval of the UN, violating [the United States’] own procedures establishing the need to notify Congress about any military operation that isn’t tied to an attack on the U.S., and on the verge of a conflict with Russia.
“No one exaggerates the value of campaign promises, but there are nonetheless the bounds of decency. Beyond them is absolute distrust. What’s really sad here is our completely ruined relationship. And this, of course, only encourages the terrorists.
“And furthermore the U.S. president has proved with his military action both his lack of originality and his extreme dependence on the opinion of the Washington establishment, which sharply criticized the new president’s inauguration speech. Immediately after his election, I knew everything would depend on how quickly the existing machine could crush Trump’s campaign promises. It took two and a half months…”
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