Stephen Lendman

Endless US-instigated conflict in Syria rages in its seventh year - near-term peace prospects virtually nil.

Trump made a bad situation worse, deploying hundreds more US combat troops illegally to northern Syria - on the phony pretext of combating ISIS America created and supports.

Attacking Syria’s Shayrat airbase in response to a likely CIA-orchestrated Khan Sheikhoun CW attack shows the lengths Washington will go to wage endless aggression - wanting Syrian sovereignty destroyed, its leadership ousted, pro-Western puppet rule replacing it.Since 2012, Washington undermined Russia’s consistent good faith efforts for conflict resolution. Sergey Lavrov blasted the Trump administration for sabotaging peaceful solutions, saying:

“(I)llegal and aggressive (US) strikes on an airbase in Syria…exacerbated the situation and hindered, maybe on purpose, the search for a political settlement.”

“British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson…blame(d) the Syrian government…Russia and Iran…but failed to provide any evidence, only saying that British experts…studied…samples (from Khan Sheikhoun and) conclu(ded) sarin or some similar (toxins) were used,” said Lavrov.

Britain and America want Assad toppled. They’ll do and say anything furthering their objective.

Russia wants an unbiased, reliable, independent investigation on what occurred in Khan Sheikhoun. If conducted fairly, it’ll clearly show Assad had nothing to do with what happened.

Lavrov stressed Russia won’t let “anyone…disrupt” conflict resolution efforts, according to SC Res. 2254 - calling for ceasefire and resolving things diplomatically.

At the same time, he fears US-led subversion “endangered (the) political process.”

Wrongfully blaming Assad for the Khan Sheikhoun CW incident, attacking Syria’s Shayrat airbase, along continuing support for ISIS and other terrorist groups are part of Washington’s plan to oust Assad.

Syria remains a charnel house. Lavrov warned Washington against targeting North Korea the same way - violating international law again, risking possible nuclear war, adding:

Longstanding US hostility toward Pyongyang hardly can be called an “era of strategic patience.”

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow’s “position is well known and consistent” - calling for dealing with Syria, North Korea and all other nations diplomatically.

America consistently chooses war over responsibly seeking peace and stability.

-###-

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at http://www.sjlendman.blogspot.com.

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.