Russia, US urge Security Council meeting after Syria attacks

The United Nations Security Council will hold a meeting on Monday at rival requests of Russia and the United States following an alleged chemical attack in Syria.

According to Press TV, Russia called for a Security Council meeting on "international threats to peace and security," though the precise topic of discussion was not immediately clear, diplomats said on Sunday.

A minute later the US, France, Britain, Sweden, Poland, the Netherlands, Kuwait, Peru and Ivory Coast called on the 15-member council to hold a meeting to discuss last week’s alleged chemical attack in Syria.

According to diplomats, an agreement was reached late Sunday to meet once on Monday instead of twice.

The alleged chemical attack on Saturday in the terrorist-held town of Douma in the Eastern Ghouta region left dozens dead and drew international condemnation from various countries and international bodies.

Damascus, in a statement released late on Saturday, strongly rejected the allegation of using chemical munitions and said that the so-called Jaish al-Islam Takfiri terrorist group, which has dominant presence in Douma, was repeating the accusations “in order to accuse the Syrian Arab army, in a blatant attempt to hinder the Army’s advance.”

Moscow also rejected the accusations against the Syrian government as bogus reports and warned of consequences of an attack on Damascus. 

The warning came after US President Donald Trump promised a “big price” to be paid for what he said was a chemical weapons attack, and a top White House official said the administration would not rule out a missile strike against the Syrian government.

The US and France vowed a "strong, joint response" to the allegation of the chemical attack, which came in the wake of the Syrian Army's push to drive out last remnants of terrorists from Douma.

Earlier on Monday, SANA reported that a suspected US missile attack targeted the T-4 military airport in Homs.

According to the news agency, Syrian air defenses responded to a "missile attack" early on Monday morning, and shot down eight missiles.

Several people were reportedly killed and wounded in the attack on the airbase, which is located in the countryside of the western city of Homs.

The Pentagon denied the report that the US military launched a missile attack on an air base in Syria's Homs province, claiming it was not conducting air strikes "at this time".

The French army also said it did not stage an air strike on the Syrian air base.

ME