President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May have agreed on the need for a “joint response” on Syria.
The US president had earlier on Thursday appeared to row back on the commitment to an immediate strike against Syrian government targets.
“No final decision has been made,” she said, adding that Trump was scheduled to confer with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May.
Later, a White House readout of their call said Trump and May “continued their discussion of the need for a joint response to Syria’s use of chemical weapons.”
But UK opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn on Friday said that Britain should press for an independent UN-led investigation into the suspected chemical attack in Syria rather than wait for instructions from Trump on how to proceed. May on Thursday won backing from her senior ministers to take unspecified action with the United States and France to deter further use of chemical weapons by Syria. Corbyn has said parliament should be consulted before any military action.
“The government appears to be waiting for instructions from President Donald Trump on how to proceed,” the Labour Party leader said in a statement. Britain should press for an independent UN-led investigation of last weekend’s horrific chemical weapons attack so that those responsible can be held to account.”
But after a week in which Trump has burst through an almost daily series of self-imposed decision deadlines, he again appeared unwilling to rush headlong to war.
His window for military action could be narrowing, with inspectors from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons expected to arrive in Syria to begin work on Saturday, following an invitation from Damascus.
In New York, Russia’s UN ambassador warned the priority in Syria was to avert US-led strikes that could lead to a confrontation between the world’s two preeminent nuclear powers.
“The immediate priority is to avert the danger of war,” said Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia following closed-door Security Council talks, refusing to exclude the possibility of US-Russian clashes.
Trump has slammed Russia for its partnership with “Gas Killing Animal” Assad, spurring concerns that a US strike could lead to a conflagration with Russia, which has major military facilities at Tartus and Khmeimim and works cheek-by-jowl with Syria forces that could be targeted.
US officials have refused to rule out direct military engagement with Russia, with the White House saying “all options are on the table.