Syria strikes were in Britain’s interest, not because Trump told us: UK’s May

LONDON: Britain´s decision to conduct air strikes against Syria was in the country´s national interest, and not the result of pressure from US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Theresa May told parliament on Monday.

“We have not done this because President Trump asked us to, we have done it because we believed it was the right thing to do, and we are not alone. There is broad-based international support for the action we have taken,” May said.

May said Britain was determined to prevent the use of chemical weapons becoming normalised, responding to questions in parliament about her decision to authorise air strikes against Syria.

Asked whether she could order new strikes if chemical weapons were found to have been used in the future, May said: “Nobody should be in any doubt of our resolve to ensure that we cannot see a situation where the use of chemical weapons is normalised.”

US military chiefs to brief Congress behind closed doors: US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Joseph Dunford will brief the US Senate and House of Representatives about Syria behind closed doors on Tuesday afternoon, congressional aides said on Monday.

Many US lawmakers have been pushing President Donald Trump´s administration for more information about its Syria policy, especially since the weekend bombing of Syria by Washington and allies over a chemical weapons attack.

Trump still wants US troops to leave Syria, but no timeline: President Donald Trump still wants to bring US troops home from Syria but has not set a timeline, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said on Monday, two days after Western allies bombed Syrian targets over a chemical weapons attack.

Sanders, speaking to reporters traveling with Trump to Miami, said the president also is still willing to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but she indicated that no meeting is imminent.