06 Apr 17. US and Russia clash over Trump’s strike on Syria Washington says prepared to do more as Moscow warns countries ‘on verge of military clash’ Read next Nicholas Burns Trump’s welcome demonstration of US leadership © EPA Share on Twitter (opens new window) Share on Facebook (opens new window) Share on LinkedIn (opens new window) EmailSave YESTERDAY by: Demetri Sevastopulo and Courtney Weaver in Washington, Kathrin Hille in Moscow and Erika Solomon in Beirut Russia and the US clashed on Friday as an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council debated President Donald Trump’s military strikes against Syria in response to the chemical weapons attack that killed more than 70 people. In his first major military action, Mr Trump authorised the launch of 59 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian airfield after a gas attack that the US and its allies blamed on Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev on Friday said that the strikes had “completely ruined relations” between the US and Russia and that the two countries were now “on the verge of a military clash”. The strikes mark a stark shift of US strategy over Syria, where the civil war has killed hundreds of thousands of civilians. During his campaign, Mr Trump had signalled that he would be less willing than some of his predecessors to intervene on humanitarian grounds, but on Friday Sean Spicer, his spokesman, said the president had been “very moved” by the images of slaughtered children. Speaking at the UN, Vladimir Safronov, Russia’s envoy, said the strikes could spark “extremely serious” consequences for regional and international stability, and warned that the “aggression by the US has only facilitated the strengthening of terrorism”. Nikki Haley, US ambassador to the UN, hit back with a blistering speech, in which she said Russia bore “considerable responsibility” for the gas attack. “Assad . . . thought he could get away with it because he knew Russia would have his back. That changed last night,” said Mrs Haley, adding that Moscow was either “knowingly” allowing chemical weapons to remain in Syria, “incompetent” or being made “a fool” of by Mr Assad. “The US took a very measured step last night. We are prepared to do more. But we hope that will not be necessary,” Mrs Haley added. Later on Friday, Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, told reporters that the US was preparing to impose more sanctions on Syria, without providing details. What US strikes mean for Trump and Russia Play video Mr Spicer said the US president had ordered his national security team to develop options to respond to Syria as soon he was briefed on the gas attack on Tuesday, and signed off on a decision to launch missile strikes at 4pm on Thursday. Mr Trump informed Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, as they finished their first dinner together at his Mar-a-Lago resort. The strikes were applauded by many western nations which said Mr Assad had crossed a line with the gas attack. Matthew Rycroft, UK ambassador to the UN, said it was an “appropriate response” to a “heinous” war crime by the Syrian regime. But Russia, the main backer along with Iran of the Syrian regime, said it would have serious consequences. Major General Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the Russian defence ministry, said the Russian military would take steps to strengthen Syrian air defences to help “protect the most sensitive Syrian infrastructure facilities”. Moscow had called for the emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, and said it would suspend its channel for communicating military action in Syria with Washington, which has been used to prevent accidental conflict. Read more on the Syria air strikes Explainer: What we know and what it means Instant Insight: Trump’s sharp U-turn on Assad Analysis: Rebels cheer air strikes but expect little impact on conflict Markets: Gold and oil rise sharply following missile strike The strikes, which were the first direct interven