President Assad met Vladimir Putin in Moscow in 2015. The Russian president is under pressure to cut ties with the Syrian regime KREMLIN VIA REUTERSBritain is pushing western nations to impose new sanctions on Russia if it fails to cut ties with President Assad as the conflict over Syria escalates. Russia and Iran warned jointly yesterday that they would “respond with force” if there were further US attacks in Syria. Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, is demanding that western nations draw up “very punitive sanctions” in response to last week’s chemical attack on a rebel-held area, in which up to 90 people were killed. A paper on sanctions has been prepared for a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Lucca, Italy, which starts today.

Source: The Times April 09, 2017 23:03 UTC