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Indonesia 'concerned' over airstrike on Syria
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In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem, speaks during a press conference, Thursday, April 6, in Damascus. Moallem told reporters Thursday that it did not use chemical weapons in Tuesday's deadly chemical weapons attack in Syria's northern Idlib province, and he blamed the rebels for stockpiling the deadly substance. Moallem said any investigative mission would need to take off from Damascus and be far from the sphere of Turkish influence. (AP/SANA)
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ndonesia has expressed concern over an airstrike on Syria that was ordered by United States President Donald Trump in response to a chemical attack in the war-torn country.
As a state party to the Chemical Weapons Convention, Indonesia strongly condemns the use of chemical weapons in Syria that caused the loss of many innocent lives including children. The country, however, remains firm in its position of a peaceful approach to conflict settlement.
"At the same time, Indonesia is concerned about unilateral actions by any parties, including the use of Tomahawk missiles, in response to the chemical weapons attack tragedy in Syria," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir told reporters on Friday.
Jakarta stated its concern over military actions undertaken without prior authorization of the United Nations Security Council, saying they were not in line with international legal principles in the peaceful settlement of disputes, as stipulated in the UN Charter.
The country further requests the UN Security Council to take immediate steps to resolve the crisis in Syria.
"For Indonesia, peace and stability in Syria can only be achieved through dialogue and an inclusive political process," Arrmanatha said.
The US fired Tomahawk missiles into Syria in retaliation for the regime of Bashar al-Assad using nerve agents to attack his people, according to the US Defense Department.
(Read also: ANALYSIS: For Trump, an overnight evolution on Syria)
The Pentagon said 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles were launched in the early hours of Friday morning, local Syrian time, its first direct military actions against the Assad regime. (dan)
