"Given that they are militarily very much with the upper hand on the ground in Syria against the Syrian rebels, I don't think they're minded to take that route at all in Moscow, not least at a time when they are, from their perspective, being lectured by the worldwide community on what should go on in Syria". Tillerson answered a question about effecting regime change by saying the US was organizing a coalition to do just that.
"We have information that a similar provocation is being prepared ... in other parts of Syria including in the southern Damascus suburbs where they are planning to again plant some substance and accuse the Syrian authorities of using (chemical weapons)". Is this Paintergate 2? The strikes, which saw 59 tomahawk missiles launched from ships in the eastern Mediterranean, hit the base used to launch the chemical attack.
US officials previously have said Russians routinely work with Syrians at the Shayrat air base where the attack is supposed to have originated.
Ties between Moscow and Washington became tense after the USA fired on Friday 59 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian military air base American officials believe was used to carry out a deadly chemical attack Tuesday.
"The combination of the horrendous chemical weapons attack and the strong USA response has created the possibility of some real political movement, and that is why there was so much focus on Syria at the meeting", Freeland told a conference call today.
President Trump's first 100 days continue providing a parallel education in how former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson handled his business.
Britain and Canada have both said that sanctions could be tightened against Russian Federation if the Kremlin continues to support Assad's government. Putin's decision to host Tillerson signaled Moscow's intent to maintain communication with the US even as they bash each other publicly in louder and louder tones.
Following on from the Tillerson visit, Moscow has announced Lavrov will host three-way talks with his counterparts from Syria and Iran later this week.
The fallout over the chemical attack follows comments by the Trump administration and Russian Federation that a reset in relations between the countries was possible after decades of hostility. While at a press conference in Moscow (with, ironically, Italian President Sergio Mattarella), the Russian leader launched the thus-far baseless claim that further "false flag" US strikes "are being prepared in other parts of Syria, including the southern suburbs of Damascus".
"One could say that the level of trust on a working level, especially on the military level, has not improved but has rather deteriorated", Putin said in an interview on Russian television, according to Reuters. This is the former oil executive's first visit to Russian Federation as Secretary of State.
President Trump talks about good relationship with China
Navy, the guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) launches a tomahawk land attack missile in the Mediterranean Sea, Friday, April 7, 2017.
It is unclear so far whether Tillerson will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"They agreed that US Secretary of State (Rex) Tillerson's visit to Moscow this week provides an opportunity to make progress towards a solution which will deliver a lasting political settlement", he said.
The Kremlin previously refused to say whether Putin would meet with Tillerson in Moscow.
Dorrian said the operation to liberate Raqqa is the equivalent in Syria of what's being "done to eliminate the enemy" in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
Diplomats gathered in Italy as US officials in Washington floated the possibility of new sanctions on the Syrian and Russian military, plus the threat of additional USA military action if Assad's government continues attacking civilians.
Spicer did not elaborate on what a potential USA response could include, but said additional actions are a possibility.
What has Tillerson said?
Though such comments hint at a more activist US foreign policy focused on preventing humanitarian atrocities, President Donald Trump has consistently suggested he prefers the opposite approach. Then Trump, the day after the assault, said his thinking about Assad had changed. "Grab this opportunity to distance yourselves from the horror of the regime of Bashar al-Assad and finally show with sincerity that you want peace".
Exasperated, Putin told reporters that that the story is "very tedious".
"It is very much in Russia's gift - alongside Iran of course, which is a very significant player - to put pressure on the Assad regime to participate in a transition out of power if it so chooses to go down that route". Tillerson has a meeting set later Wednesday in Moscow with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
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