BEIRUT/PARIS (Reuters) - Syria hailed an "historic American retreat" on Sunday after President Barack Obama delayed an imminent military strike by deciding to consult Congress.
As Obama stepped back from the brink, France said it could not act alone in punishing President Bashar al-Assad over a chemical weapons attack, making it the last remaining top Western ally to hesitate about bombing Syria.
"Obama announced yesterday, directly or through implication, the beginning of the historic American retreat," Syria's official al-Thawra newspaper said in a front-page editorial.
The U.S. president said on Saturday he would seek congressional consent before taking military action against Damascus for the August 21 attack which he blames on Assad's forces - a decision likely to delay any strike for at least nine days.
Syria's deputy foreign minister Faisal Mekdad denounced any armed Western move against his government. "A decision to wage war on Syria is a criminal decision and an incorrect decision. We are confident that we will be victorious," he told reporters outside a hotel in Damascus.
However, Syria's opposition coalition called on Sunday on the U.S. congress to grant approval for military action and said any intervention should be accompanied with more arms for the rebels.
Obama made his surprise announcement in a gamble that will test his ability to project American strength abroad and deploy his own power at home.
