French leader defends strikes in Syria
French President Emmanuel Macron says strikes were conducted for 'honor of the international community'
By Hajer M'tiri
STRASBOURG
French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday fiercely defended the strikes against chemical facilities of the Syrian regime, saying they were conducted "for the honor of the international community".
Addressing MEPs at the European
He recalled that France, the U.K.
"Let's look at our principles and ask where we want to go: These strikes do not solve anything, but they put an end to a system to which we had become accustomed, which is that, in a way, the side of the rule of law would have become the camp of the weak," Macron said.
The French leader said he had "declared war on no one" other than Daesh unlike Bashar al-Assad who "leads a parallel war against the Syrian people and his opponents".
On Saturday, France in coordination with the U.S. and the U.K. conducted a series of military strikes targeting the Assad regime's chemical weapons capabilities in retaliation for a suspected chemical attack in Douma, eastern Ghouta, on April 7.
The strikes targeted the Assad regime's chemical weapons research center near Damascus, a chemical weapons warehouse and a command center related to chemical weapons located west of Homs, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Joseph Dunford said.
Anadolu Agency website contains only a portion of the news stories offered to subscribers in the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), and in summarized form. Please contact us for subscription options.