Meeting in Italy, the G7 foreign affairs ministers said on Tuesday 11 April that the US action against Shayrat Airfield in response to the chemical attack on Khan Sheikhoun in Syria (see EUROPE 11764) had been "a carefully calibrated, limited in scope response to this war crime" (see EUROPE 11764).
The action "was directed against Syrian military targets directly connected to the 4 April chemical weapons attack in order to prevent and deter the proliferation and use of deadly chemical weapons in Syria", the ministers said in their joint statement.
They called on the Syrian parties, especially the regime, to "engage seriously in the UN led political process" for a credible political transition that meets the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people and enables them to independently and democratically determine their own future.
"Russia has the potential to help resolve the conflict and restore a stable and unified Syria, and defeat ISIL/Da'esh and terrorism", the G7 stated, calling on Moscow to work to promote a "real and genuine" political process in Syria, and to use its influence with the regime to bring the conflict to an end, beginning with the enforcement of a real ceasefire and improved humanitarian access.
The G7 statement can be consulted at: http://bit.ly/2oWIP7h (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)