The international response to the news that the United States fired 59 missiles at a military target in Syria on Thursday has varied greatly.
Some leaders moved to condemn the action, while others voiced support for an aggressive U.S. move in a war that has raged for six years. Responses have predominately cut across expected lines, with allies of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad slamming the move, and long-time critics of the nation’s enduring war coming forward with praise.
The impact the strike will have on foreign relations with the United States is unknown at present — but some of these responses could be a telling indicator.
Russia
In a move that could signal a shift in warming U.S.-Russia relations, the Kremlin soundly condemned the strike.
A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin called the move a “significant blow” to ties between the two countries.
“[The action is] an aggression against a sovereign state in violation of the norms of international law, and under a trumped-up pretext at that,” Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin representative, stated.
Syria’s dictator is a close ally of Putin, and Russia has played a role in Syria’s civil war since September 2015, following a request from Assad. Putin has made no secret of his support for the regime, and Russia has repeatedly blocked efforts by the U.N. Security Council to sanction Assad’s violence.
Following the strike, Moscow requested an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting. Russia also froze an agreement with the United States pledging to coordinate air operations and intended to prevent any direct conflict between Russian and American forces over Syria.
Iran
Along with Russia, Iran has been one of the Syrian government’s closest allies in the war. While Russia’s role as an intervening ally has been more widely documented, Iran has also played a part in sending weapons and fighters into Syria, to say nothing of financial support.
Unsurprisingly, Iran reacted swiftly to news of the strike.
“We strongly condemn any unilateral military action and the missile attack on the Al Shayrat airbase in Syria by the US Navy,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi, “and believe that such actions, which use the excuse of a suspicious chemical attack in Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib, whose timing and perpetrators are shrouded in a cloud of doubt, only strengthens terrorists who were already weak and adds to the complexity in Syria and the region.”
Saudi Arabia
U.S. ally Saudi Arabia endorsed the strike, going so far as to call the action “courageous” and praising Trump’s willingness to act.
“A responsible source at the foreign ministry expressed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s full support for the American military operations on military targets in Syria, which came as a response to the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons against innocent civilians,” read a statement from SPA, a state news agency.
Jordan
Jordan is one of Syria’s neighbors, and a member of the coalition of nations leading the fight against ISIS. Alongside Lebanon, Jordan has played host to a staggering number of Syrian refugees, numbering over a million. Jordan’s King Abdullah II was alongside Trump during a press conference when the latter first expressed his response to the alleged chemical weapons attack that sparked the strike.
A staunch U.S. ally and proponent of ending the Syrian war, Jordan has been supportive of the move, with the Jordanian administration calling it “necessary and appropriate,” via state news agency Petra.
Israel
The Israeli government is an old foe of Syria, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (also a Trump ally) enthusiastically welcomed Trump’s action, and went so far as to equate the strike with a message sent to the world.
“Israel fully and unequivocally supports the presidents decision and hopes the clear message will reverberate not only in Damascus but also in Tehran, Pyongyang and other places,” Netanyahu said.
Other Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, also echoed their support. The Israeli Defense Forces were reportedly told of the strike before its occurrence, and had signaled their endorsement.
Canada
Canada “fully supports” the U.S. strike on Syria, according to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. While Canadian forces were not involved in the strike, the Toronto Star reported that the United States had the Canadian government’s full backing in its actions.
“Canada fully supports the United States’ limited and focused action to degrade the Assad regime’s ability to launch chemical weapons attacks against innocent civilians, including many children,” Trudeau wrote in a statement. “President Assad’s use of chemical weapons and the crimes the Syrian regime has committed against its own people cannot be ignored. These gruesome attacks cannot be permitted to continue operating with impunity.
The Canadian government has said it will continue to work to end the Syrian war.
Turkey
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government expressed support for the U.S. attack condemned the chemical attacks in Idlib.
“What happened in Idlib on Tuesday proved again that the bloody al-Assad regime shows complete disregard for the prospect of a political transition and efforts to enforce the ceasefire,” Turkish spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin said.
“The destruction of Sharyat airbase marks an important step to ensure that chemical and conventional attacks against the civilian population do not go unpunished,” Kalin added.
Nearly three million Syrians, mostly of Sunni Arab descent, are registered as refugees in Turkey. Along with Jordan, Turkey shoulders the greatest burden to host Syrian refugees, so the creation of a safe zone in northern Syria has become a top priority. After the U.S. attack, Erdogan’s government urged the immediate creation of no-fly zones and safe zones in Syria and looked to international leaders to “end the humanitarian crisis in Syria.”
The Turkish Foreign Ministry supported the airstrike, saying in part in a statement, “we welcome the operation very positively. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusogl said that safe zones were “now more important than ever.”
Protesting outside the Russian and Iranian embassies in Ankara, Turkish citizens carried 100 black-painted coffins with the images of children killed in the Idlib attack. The coffins bore messages that read, “murderer Assad” and “tyrant Putin.” Both Iran and Russia are allies of the Assad regime.
United Kingdom
British officials offered full support for the cruise missile strikes, describing it as an “appropriate response” to this week’s chemical attack in Syria. Britain has called on Russia, which supports Bashar al-Assad, to end the Syrian civil war that has now entered its sixth year. British officials said that they were given advance notice by U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis of the strike, although the U.K. government was not asked to join the overnight assault.
“The U.K. government fully supports the U.S. action, which we believe was an appropriate response to the barbaric chemical weapons attack launched by the Syrian regime, and is intended to deter further attacks,” a Downing Street spokesperson said.
U.K. Defense Secretary Sir Michael Fallon praised the United States for the “limited response,” saying it was “wholly appropriate.” Fallon also said that he hoped Russia would “learn from what happened last night and use its influence against Assad to bring this slaughter to a stop.” Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn however cautioned that the action “risks escalating the war in Syria still further.” Former UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage, a prominent pro-Brexit voice who has supported President Donald Trump on the campaign trail, was surprised by the action.
“I am very surprised by this,” Farage said. “I think a lot of Trump voters will be waking up this morning and scratching their heads and saying ‘where will it all end?’
France and Germany
French President Francois Holland and Chancellor Angela Merkel released a joint statement saying Assad bore “sole responsibility” for the U.S. response. Both countries said they would continue efforts through the United Nations to respond to the chemical attacks suspected to have been authorized by the Assad regime.
“His repeated use of chemical weapons and his crimes against the population demanded sanctioning,” they said in the statement.
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said that the air strikes were “understandable” and added that it was time to “work under UN umbrella towards peace and a political solution” to end the Syrian civil war.
Statement of FM @sigmargabriel on US air strikes following use of chemical weapons in Syria. pic.twitter.com/a5fBREoo87
— GermanForeignOffice (@GermanyDiplo) April 7, 2017
European Union
In a public Twitter message, European Council President Donald Tusk said that the U.S. air strikes showed “needed resolve” against the chemical attacks and supported working with the U.S. government “to end brutality” in Syria.
US strikes show needed resolve against barbaric chemical attacks. EU will work with the US to end brutality in Syria.
— Donald Tusk (@eucopresident) April 7, 2017
Tusk criticized a Russian-led military campaign in Syria last year saying that the Kremlin’s actions made an “already very bad situation even worse” in Syria. Tusk also cautioned economic refugees to stop trying to enter Europe as tens of thousands of people swelled to a bottleneck at the Greece-Macedonia border last March. Greece is generally the “first transit point” for refugees who want to enter the EU in search of better lives, though Syrian refugees generally try to depart for the European Union through Turkey.
China
The Chinese government urged restraint and an “escalation of tension” in Syria during Chinese President Xi Jin Ping’s two-day visit with President Donald Trump at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Trump told Xi about the strike at the resort.
“We are concerned about the current situation in Syria and call for political settlement,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said Friday during a press briefing. “We hope all sides will stay calm and exercise restraint to prevent the escalation of tension.”
China’s response comes on the heels of the first face-to-face meeting between the Xi and Trump. Last week, Trump told the Financial Times that his government may take military action on North Korea, which poses a nuclear threat, if China won’t help to “solve” the country through the possible use of sanctions. In the past, China has criticized the U.S. military expansion efforts, calling the country “a source of destabilization in the region,” Foreign Policy in Focus reported.
“There’s a possibility that [Thursday’s airstrike] may push China to do more, to cooperate with the United States,” Zhang Baohui, a professor of international affairs at Lingnan University in Hong Kong told the Los Angeles Times. “Because China doesn’t want a war in the Korean peninsula — that would be fundamentally against China’s interests.”
China, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has vetoed resolutions in the past to impose sanctions on Syria. It’s done so on the view that sanctions are ineffective to change policies. During an interview on Chinese television last month, Assad called China a “real friend” and said that the two countries’ relationship “is going to be on the rise.”