Strike on Syria will affect US-Russia ties: Kremlin

Russian President VladimirPutinbelieves that UScruise missile strikes on a Syrian air base broke international law and have seriously hurt US-Russia relations, Russian news agencies quoted the Kremlin on Friday.

Putin, a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, saw the USaction as "aggression against a sovereign nation" on a "made-up pretext" and a cynical attempt to distract the world from civilian deaths in Iraq, Dmitry Peskov,Putin's spokesman, was cited as saying, Reuters reported.

"Putinviews the USstrikes on Syria as aggression against a sovereign state in violation of the norms of international law and on a made-up up pretext," Peskov was cited as saying, Reuters reported.

"Washington's step will inflict major damage on US-Russia ties."

Russia will now call for an urgent meeting of the UNSecurity Council to discuss the matter, the RIA news agency cited Viktor Ozerov, the head of the upper house of parliament's defence and security committeeas saying.

Russia was informed

Pentagon spokesmanCaptain Jeff Davis earlier told reporters that the USmilitary had given Russian forces advanced notice of its strikes on theairbase and did not hit sections of the base where theRussians were believed to be present. Reuters reported,

Davis added that the USmilitary had "multiple" conversations withRussian forces using a line of communication that had previously been established to prevent an accidental clash in Syria during the fight against Islamic State.

(WION with inputs from Reuters)