Assad met with Russian MPs – ‘Western strikes were act of aggression’

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has told a group of Russian politicians that Western missile strikes on his country were an act of aggression, according to Russian news agencies.

The politicians met with Mr Assad after the United States, France and Britain launched missile strikes on Syria in retaliation for a suspected poison gas attack a week ago.

Russia, which is helping Mr Assad fight rebel forces opposed to his rule, immediately condemned the strikes and called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

“From the point of view of the President, this was aggression and we share this position,” Russia’s TASS news agency quoted politician Sergei Zheleznyak as saying after the meeting with Mr Assad.