US strike illegal, seriously hurt Russia-US ties:Putin

President Vladimir Putin believes a US missile attack on a Syrian airbase near Homs has violated international law and seriously hurt Russia-US relations, the Kremlin says.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that the Russian leader regards the US attack as an act of "aggression against a sovereign nation," which was carried out based on a "made-up pretext."

The attack was a cynical attempt to distract the world from civilian deaths in Iraq, he added.

Russia did not believe that Syria possessed chemical weapons, Peskov said, adding the US attack would inevitably create a serious obstacle to creating an international coalition against terrorism.

Earlier in the day, the head of the defense and security committee at the Russian upper house of parliament said Russia will call for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council over the attack.

Viktor Ozerov warned against the ramifications of the massive US airstrike, saying it "could be viewed as an act of aggression of the U.S. against a UN nation."Chairman of the international affairs committee in the upper house of the Russian parliament Konstantin Kosachev also said the attack had put Russia's cooperation with the US on the Syria crisis in doubt.   

The strikes were intended to "stamp an earlier verdict about (Syrian President Bashar) al-Assad's responsibility for a chemical attack in Idlib with gunpowder," Kosachev said.

Russia had warned on Thursday that there could be "negative consequences" if Washington took military action against Syria.

"All responsibility if military action occurs will be on the shoulders of those who initiated such a doubtful tragic enterprise," Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Vladimir Safronkov said.

"Look at Iraq, look at Libya," he said, referring to the countries which have been rocked by violence, terrorism and chaos since the West launched a military intervention.

Avoid further escalation: Beijing 

China also reacted to the US military strike, urging calm in dealing with the Syria conflict."What is urgent now is to avoid further deterioration of the situation," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying on Friday.

She added, "We oppose use of chemical weapons by any country, organization or individual in any circumstance, for any purpose."On President Donald Trump's order, the US launched a military strike Friday morning on a Syrian army airfield in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack in the town of Khan Sheikhun in Idlib Province earlier this week.

The Pentagon said the Russians deployed to the targeted military facility were given prior notice, and that attack did not hit sections of the airbase where Moscow's forces were reportedly present.

Since 2014, the Russian military has been providing air cover to the Syrian forces operating on the ground against the terrorist groups.

Iran strongly condemns 'dangerous' US strike on Syria  

Iran has strongly condemned a US cruise missile attack on a Syrian army airbase near the west-central city of Homs, calling it "destructive and dangerous". 

Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said Friday US use of a chemical attack in Syria as a "pretext for unilateral action is dangerous, destructive and violation of peremptory principles of international laws." 

Some 60 US Tomahawk missiles were fires from US warships deployed to the Mediterranean at the Shayrat airfield southeast of Homs earlier in the day, in an assault slammed by Syria as an "act of aggression."

Turkey, which hosts three million Syrian refugees, said it views the US missile strikes positively and called for the establishment of a no-fly zone, as well as safe zones, in Syria.

"What happened in Idlib on Tuesday proved again that the bloody Assad regime show complete disregard for the prospect of a political transition and efforts to enforce the ceasefire," read a statement by presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin.

"The destruction of Sharyat airbase marks an important step to ensure that chemical and conventional attacks against the civilian population do not go unpunished."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he supports the "strong and clear message" sent by the US strikes.

The Israeli military said it had been informed in advance of the attack.

"In both word and action, President (Donald) Trump sent a strong and clear message today that the use and spread of chemical weapons will not be tolerated," a statement from Netanyahu's office said.

"Israel fully supports President Trump's decision and hopes that this message of resolve in the face of the Assad regime's horrific actions will resonate not only in Damascus, but in Tehran, Pyongyang and elsewhere."

Russia halts US deal, to shore up Syria defenses

Moscow says it is halting an agreement with Washington aimed at avoiding mid-air collisions during their military missions in the Syrian airspace after US launched a missile attack against a Syrian army airbase.

"The Russian side is halting the effect of the memorandum for prevention of incidents and ensuring safety of air flights during operations in Syria which was agreed with the US," said a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday.

It was referring to the 2015 agreement, under which Russia and the US agreed to exchange information on their flights in Syrian skies, where the two sides have been involved in separate military operations.

The announcements came after some 60 US Tomahawk missiles were fired from US warships deployed to the Mediterranean at the Shayrat airfield southeast of the western Syria city of Homs earlier in the day.