Xi, Trump discussed situation in Syria during meeting in US

By  Trend

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump discussed the situation in Syria during their recent meeting, Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Lu Kang said on Saturday, Sputnik reported.

Xi met with Trump on April 6-7 in Florida, with the talks on Friday lasting for over seven hours, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

"During the meeting the two leaders discussed this issue [of Syria]. President of China Xi Jinping clarified the firm Chinese position that the country opposes the use of chemical weapon. He stressed that the main priority for now is avoiding the escalation in the country and protection of the crisis settlement process," Lu said.

?The situation in Syria has significantly aggravated this week.

On Tuesday, Syrian opposition forces stated that some 80 people were killed and 200 injured in a chemical weapon attack in the Syrian Idlib province, blaming the Syrian army for the incident. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the attack claimed the lives of 84 people. The Syrian foreign minister has denied the government’s involvement in the Idlib incident, saying it had never nor would it ever use chemical weapons on either civilians or terrorists operating in the country.

However, on Thursday night, Washington launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian military airfield in Ash Sha’irat, located in nearly 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Syrian city of Homs. The attack was a response to the alleged chemical attack in Syria's Idlib, which Washington blames on Damascus.