PARIS, April 14 (Xinhua) -- The allied missile attacks in Syria were "legitimate", "limited" and "proportionate", French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Saturday.
In coordination with the United States and Britain, French forces targeted a Syrian military chemical research center and two production sites overnight.
"This action was proportionate and targeted. It was not aimed at (Syrian President Bashar al-) Assad's allies nor at the civilian population," Le Drian told reporters.
"It was limited to specific objectives: the destruction of the Syrian regime's chemical capabilities, so as to stop it from committing new chemical massacres," he added at a joint press meeting with Defense Minister Florence Parly.
To avoid an escalation of tension in the region, France is now ready to work on a political alternative with all the countries that can contribute to it, the foreign minister said.
Earlier on Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron gave the green light to the French military to join the United States and Britain in an operation targeting "clandestine chemical arsenal" in Syria. The decision came after Syrian Government forces allegedly used chemical weapons against rebels in Douma, a town near Damascus, earlier this month.
The Syrian Government has denied the allegation and called the reports fake news used by the West to justify its attacks on Syria.
"We are not looking for confrontation and refuse any logic of escalation. That is the reason why we, with our allies, ensured the Russians were warned beforehand," Parly said.
The minister added that during the operation, cruise missiles were fired from several air bases in France to strike the research center and two production sites.
"The targets were chosen precisely. (They are) the places that allowed the massacre of Syrian women and children in defiance of all norms...in defiance of all humanity," she said.
