US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during his visit to Russian Federation would press Moscow to honour its global commitments on Syria, Ukraine and Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty treaty, the White House said today.
At the start of his meeting with Lavrov, Tillerson said he wanted to "clarify areas of common objectives, areas of common interest - even where our tactical approaches may be different - and further clarify areas of sharp difference".
Washington has said that Russian Federation and Syria are trying to "confuse the world community about who is responsible for using chemical weapons against the Syrian people in this and earlier attacks".
Tillerson is the first senior U.S. official to visit Moscow since Trump took office promising to seek closer cooperation with Russian Federation, but as he arrived relations were already tense. But Tillerson repeated the administration's new belief that "the reign of the Assad family is coming to an end".
But Tillerson's claim is one President Barack Obama, too, argued for years, only to see Assad outlast his own term in office.
The tense talks U.S. State Secretary Rex Tillerson held in Moscow on Wednesday didn't seem to narrow the gap. While such claims may have been useful to boost sales of Russian arms showcased in Syria, they turned out to mean little: Russia failed to intercept the U.S. missiles. Author of the material Sascha Lehnarz says that there is no expert who would know what this military operation started by the United States and its president Trump means. Putin's hostility toward Clinton - and part of the reason he intervened in the USA elections to ensure her defeat - was due to his paranoid fear that regime change was what she had in mind when she criticized Russia's flawed parliamentary election in December 2011.
NPR's Lucian Kim reports that the unfolding drama surrounding the attack and its aftermath has soured Tillerson's visit, which had once borne great expectations from US and Russian diplomats. The animosity is especially striking given widespread speculation that Trump, who lavishly praised Putin during his campaign, would pursue rapprochement with Moscow. The President and the Secretary of Defence appear to be keen to stick to that position.
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The first one is to bear Assad's regime, which is supported by Russian Federation and Iran and threatens Israel in the medium term. Since late 2012, there have been some 64 alleged attacks, employing various toxic chemicals, ranging from chlorine to sarin gas.
Mr Trump also told the story - with a bit of delight - of how he informed Chinese President Xi Jinping of the Syrian strike.
Britain had hoped the threat of sanctions would strengthen Tillerson's hand in talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The Kremlin has said Tillerson has no meeting scheduled with Putin this trip, although some Russian media have reported such a meeting may nevertheless take place.
In Damascus, a Syrian official said Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem will visit Russian Federation on Thursday where he will meet officials in Moscow. Instead, the U.S.is hoping to use the visit - the first by a Trump Cabinet official to Russia - to convey expectations to Moscow and allow Russians time to respond.
I should also note that FNS host Chris Wallace asked McMaster directly whether it was the administration's policy that as long as Assad kills civilians with conventional weapons we won't do anything about it, and McMaster essentially said yes without saying yes, by repeating what a "strong message" we had sent to Assad about chemical weapons. The regular meeting of foreign ministers from the G7 industrialized nations was dominated by the Syria crisis. "Or Russia can maintain its alliance" with Syria and Iran.
Respectfully, we offer the same advice to you, President Trump. Majorities in older age groups approve of the USA military action.
What is the US' Syria policy? Obama defined the use of chemical weapons as a "red line" that the Assad regime must not cross. The more than six-year-old conflict has cost hundreds of thousands of lives, including women and children.
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