Rouhani: Russia was ‘inch from confrontation’ with the US

Russia was “in an inch from the confrontation” with the United States following the US missile strike on the Syrian Ash Sha’irat airfield, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Monday.

“And if it turns out that the terrorists spread the [poison] gas, what the United States will do? If terrorists find out that the United States will support them every time they spread the gas, what will be with the region? Russian officials said they were an inch from the confrontation [with the United States],” Rouhani said, citing Russian officials, as quoted by the ISNA news agency.

He also said the missile strike damages the negotiating process and underscored the political track as the only solution to the six-year Syrian crisis.

“As for Syria, the final solution must be political,” Rouhani said. “What the US has done has harmed the negotiation process.”