YEREVAN, APRIL 20, ARMENPRESS. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad returned to France the prestigious Legion d'honneur awarded him by then French President Jacques Chirac in 2001 during the visit to Paris, BBC reports.

The award was returned to France via the Romanian embassy in Damascus.

President Assad was decorated with the highest class of the award, the Grand Croix, in 2001 after he took power following the death of his father.

“The ministry of foreign affairs... has returned to the French republic... the decoration of the Grand Croix of the Legion d'honneur awarded to President Assad”, the Syrian foreign ministry said in a statement.

“It is no honour for President Assad to wear a decoration attributed by a slave country and follower of the United States that supports terrorists”, it added.

The United States, Great Britain and France launched missile strikes on Syria overnight April 14 in response to a suspected chemical attack on the Syrian town of Douma.

English –translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan