On 14 April the US, the UK and France carried out air strikes in Syria targeting a research centre outside the capital, Damascus, and two suspected chemical weapons storage sites near the city of Homs. The Syrian government claims to have shot down many of the more than a hundred missiles launched, something the Pentagon dismisses. The action was in response to an alleged chemical attack on civilians in the town of Douma a week ago, which had killed more than 85 people. Investigators from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons arrived in Syria on 14 April but they have been unable to visit the site because of “security issues” according to Russia.

France’s defence minister Florence Parly said that France’s aim was to deter Syria’s government from using chemical weapons, adding that her government did not want to exacerbate the conflict: “We are not looking for a confrontation and refuse any logic of escalation. That is why, with our allies, we ensured that the Russians were notified ahead of time.”

EU HR/VP Mogherini, issued a statement on behalf of the EU claiming that the EU was informed about targeted US, French and UK airstrikes on chemical weapons facilities in Syria, and that the EU is supportive of all efforts aimed at the prevention of the use of chemical weapons. This topic will most probably be on the agenda of the next Syria Conference to be held in Brussels next 24-25 April. An EU Foreign Affairs Council took place on the same day, and EU foreign ministers issued a joint resolution in the same lines, reiterating that there can be no other solution to the Syrian conflict than political.

Many European member states, including Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece and Bulgaria, voiced support and understanding for the US-led airstrikes against Syria, however, some warned against allowing the seven-year conflict to escalate.