Russia rejects Trump's 'Twitter diplomacy' as dangerous in Syrian crisis

Jane Onyanga-Omara | USA TODAY

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After President Trump fired off a tweet Wednesday to warn Russia to "get ready" for U.S. missiles in Syria in retaliation of an alleged chemical attack, the Kremlin countered that more "serious approaches" were needed to combat the fragile Mideast crisis.

"We do not participate in Twitter diplomacy," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a statement. "We support serious approaches. We continue to believe that it is important not to take steps that could harm an already fragile situation."

Trump has threatened military action following a suspected chemical attack on the rebel-held town of Douma, near Damascus, Saturday that killed at least 40 people, many of them children.

The Syrian government and Russia, a close ally of the Bashar Assad regime, have denied a chemical attack occurred.

Syria’s Foreign Ministry accused Washington of using the alleged chemical attack as a pretext for a strike.

“We are not surprised by this reckless escalation from a regime like the one in the United States, which has and continues to sponsor terrorism in Syria,” the ministry said in a statement carried by state media.

The ministry said recent statements from Washington “show (the Trump administration) lacks not only principles and values but also wisdom and logic and that in itself endangers international peace and security.”

Russia’s ambassador to Lebanon, Alexander Zasypkin, told Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV station that any missiles fired at Syria would be shot down. Hezbollah is closely allied with Iran, another Assad supporter.

“If there is a strike by the Americans, then … the missiles will be downed and the source of the missiles targeted,” Zasypkin said. He said he was referring to a statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian armed forces chief of staff.

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That, in turn, triggered a tweetstorm from Trump, who fired back: "Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and 'smart!' You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!"

Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and “smart!” You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2018

In Washington, Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican who sits on the Foreign Relations Committee, also said he was not comfortable with the president’s tweet.

“I’m not a real fan of the tweeting process here. I think there’s a better way of doing this,” he told CNN.

“I’ve said repeatedly I wish Russia were no worse than a friendly rival as opposed to an unfriendly adversary, and what they’re doing around the world including Syria is not helpful,” Johnson said. “So how do you deal with Russia? Well, you have to deal with them with strength and resolve.”

As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump chided the Obama administration for talking too much about when and where it would attack the Islamic State in Iraq, ruining the element of surprise.

Johnson told CNN Trump should follow his own advice. “If we’re going to strike, we first need to verify exactly what happened so that we are almost certain who is responsible and (then) we strike without warning,” he said.

While Putin has zero presence on Twitter, other branches of the government have dabbled in social media diplomacy.

In a Facebook post, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova wondered if the chemical weapons watchdog investigating reports of the suspected chemical attack has been warned that U.S. missiles would destroy “all evidence” of the alleged incident.

“Or is it the original idea to use the smart missiles to sweep the traces of the provocation under the rug?” she added.

Another top Russian official warned Trump of "serious consequences'" if any Russians are wounded or killed in any possible airstrike on the war-torn nation.

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Vladimir Chizhov, Russia’s permanent representative to the European Union, told Euronews: "Russia has warned U.S. representatives, both publicly and via corresponding channels, including military ones, about serious consequences that might follow possible strikes (on Syria), if Russian citizens are hurt in such strikes, accidentally or not," Russia's Tass news agency reported.

Meanwhile, a senior Russian lawmaker warned the U.S. that Russia would consider an airstrike on Syria as a war crime, state media reported Wednesday.

The RIA Novosti news agency quoted Andrei Krasov, the deputy chairman of the Russian parliament’s defense committee, as saying that Russia will treat a U.S. airstrike on Syria “not just as an act of aggression but a war crime of the Western coalition.”

When asked Wednesday about Moscow’s reaction to a possible U.S. strike on Syria, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia hoped all parties in the conflict will refrain from taking “steps that could gravely destabilize the fragile situation in the region.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement Wednesday that its partners reported an estimated 500 patients had sought help at medical facilities “exhibiting signs and symptoms consistent with exposure to toxic chemicals.”

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“In particular, there were signs of severe irritation of mucous membranes, respiratory failure and disruption to central nervous systems of those exposed,” the statement said.

WHO did not confirm that a chemical weapons attack took place. Instead, it cited reports that 70 people who were sheltering in basements were killed, with 43 of the deaths “related to symptoms consistent with exposure to highly toxic chemicals.”

Russia and Bolivia on Tuesday vetoed a U.S.-drafted United Nations resolution that would have condemned the suspected chemical attack and set up a new body to determine responsibility for chemical attacks in Syria. Twelve of the 15-member U.N. Security Council voted in favor of the resolution. China abstained.

European airspace authorities have warned aircraft to take care when flying close to Syria because of possible military action against Assad’s forces.

The Eurocontrol airspace organization said that the European Aviation Safety Agency had sent a “Rapid Alert Notification” that flight operators needed to consider the possibility of air or missile strikes into Syria. Eurocontrol also warned about possible disruptions of radio navigation equipment.

Contributing: Ledge King in Washington; The Associated Press