'Russia should not allow it': Turnbull takes aim at Putin over Syrian gas attack
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has taken aim at Russia for its complicity in Syria's alleged chemical weapons attack on its own people, saying Vladamir Putin should have stopped it from happening and must bring his ally into line.
Speaking in the wake of US, British and French missile strikes against Bashar al-Assad's regime at the weekend, Mr Turnbull stepped up his support for US President Donald Trump's decision to take retaliatory action, and stressed Russia's role in the gas attack that killed about 75 people.
"The fact is Russia should not have allowed it to happen," he said. "It’s time that Russia played a responsible role. It has all of the influence and the authority over the Syrian government that it needs to ensure that these crimes are not committed."
Mr Turnbull pointed to Russia's veto power on the United Nations Security Council, a position it has so far used to obstruct efforts to investigate the Assad regime's chemical weapons capability.
The PM said the Kremlin "claims to be against the use of chemical weapons" and should admit last week's chemical attack in the Syrian city of Douma was the work of the Syrian regime.
"Russia needs to act responsibly," Mr Turnbull said.
"It should stop all the denial and the pretence that it wasn’t an action by the Syrian government, and ensure that the chemical weapons are destroyed, that the ability of the regime to use chemical weapons is eliminated and that this type of criminal conduct does not occur again."
The coalition air strikes on Saturday morning, Australian time, hit three sites connected to Syria's chemical weapons capabilities, according to the Pentagon. Those included a research facility near Damascus, a weapons storage facility west of Homs and a nearby command post.
Australian assets were not utilised in the strikes but Mr Turnbull reiterated he and his cabinet were "strong supporters of the targeted proportionate and responsible action by the United States, France and the United Kingdom".
In a statement, Russian leader Vladimir Putin denounced the US-led strikes as an aggressive act that would harm international relations. He repeated the Syrian regime's denial of responsibility for the chemical attack, while his ambassador to the US warned there would be "consequences".
Iran, another backer of the regime in Damascus, has already warned of "regional consequences" to the strikes - while Mr Trump has said there could be further strikes if Mr Assad did not cease the use of chemical weapons.
The US, UK and France governments say their intelligence gives them a very high degree of confidence that Syrian government forces did carry out the Douma attack on April 7.