Protest against US as well as Russia over Syria violence – Corbyn aide

Jeremy Corbyn sparked a fiery debate today when he suggested the US should be a target for protests over the atrocities in Syria just as much as Russia.

A senior aide to Corbyn said the focus on the killing inflicted by the Russian or Syrian armies could prove a “diversion” from the violence has come as a result of the US-led coalition.

The leader’s spokesman was answering questions over Labour’s stance towards Boris Johnson’s controversial call for the public to demonstrate against Russia over its bombing of Syria.

Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, prompted fury in Moscow yesterday when he said Russia risks becoming a “pariah nation” following its incursion in Syria. The responsibility for the recent bombing of an aid convoy has been widely laid on Vladimir Putin’s regime.

Today Corbyn’s spokesman said the priority should be to arrange talks to deliver a ceasefire but when asked about Johnson’s statement, he said: “Obviously, people are entitled and at complete liberty to demonstrate outside not only the Russian embassy, but all the other embassies of those intervening powers.

“People are free to protest outside the intervening powers’ embassies and there are a number of them – not just the US and Russia.

“There are multiple foreign interventions in the Syrian civil war and we’ve emphasised that there needs to be an end to that and those powers need to be part of a negotiated settlement, which is the only way to stop the conflict.”

Last year Corbyn strongly opposed any British involvement in the bombing in Syria but his stance set him at odds with Hilary Benn, then shadow Foreign Secretary, who was in favour of military action and whose Commons speech was applauded by MPs.

Today Corbyn’s spokesman denied drawing a “moral equivalence” between the actions of the US and Russia but, when pressed on the issue, pointed to the impact of American action in Syria.

“The focus on Russian atrocities or Syrian army atrocities – which is absolutely correct – sometimes diverts attention from other atrocities that are taking place,” he said.

“Independent assessments are that there have been very large-scale civilian casualties as a result of the US-led coalition bombing. There are several cases of large numbers of civilian deaths in single attacks.”