Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson - during a stop in Italy on his way to Moscow for a potentially tense visit, given Russian anger at last week's missile strike - outlined a dramatically interventionist approach.
Mark Rycroft said Russian Federation had been "humiliated" by its steadfast support of the Syrian dictator's regime during six years of hellish civil war and last week's chemical strike.
The Wall Street Journal cited Trump as saying that Assad's use of chemical weapons again would elicit another military response, but he also said he would not intervene in depth in the conflict.
Mr Lavrov said: "We consider it of utmost importance to prevent the risks of replay of similar action in the future".
"We have seen just recent highly alarming actions, when there was the unlawful attack against Syria", he added.
"We're going to have a phenomenal tax reform", Trump said.
Lavrov says Russian Federation thinks there is no need for a U.N. Security Council resolution on the attack until the U.N. chemical weapons watchdog has completed an objective probe.
Moscow remains angry because of last week's USA airstrikes against a Syrian airstrip in reaction to a deadly chemical attack earlier in the week. Even if Moscow cooperates, the allegations of election meddling have weakened the US leader's hand to deliver on any significant carrot, such as a loosening of the USA and European economic sanctions stemming from Russia's actions in Ukraine.
Mr Tillerson, a former oil executive, might once have looked like the flawless envoy to mend strained ties, having worked closely with the Kremlin while negotiating deals for energy giant ExxonMobil.
FINER: Well, I think that is the biggest question that I think a lot of us have going into and coming out of these meetings in Moscow today. The unwillingness of the global community to take action even after the clear use of chemical weapons paved the way for the attack, which killed more than 70 people and affected hundreds more.
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Officially Tillerson is not due to meet President Vladimir Putin, only his foreign minister counterpart Sergei Lavrov - but for Donald Trump the main man is Putin.
"Now we can say that America has shown its abilities, has returned to the picture, and the conversation won't be one-sided, neither side will dominate, and this creates possibilities and preconditions for dialogue".
Trump had frequently called during the 2016 US presidential election campaign for warmer ties with Putin, despite criticism from lawmakers in his own Republican Party.
It was unclear whether Putin, who once gave Tillerson an "Order of Friendship" award, would grant the visiting American an audience.
It's also reasonable to wonder whether Trump's new concern for United Nations resolutions reflects a genuine conversion for a politician who spent years deriding global institutions, or was merely a useful set of talking points as he tried to make a sale.
The very limited attack (59 missiles, one airbase, a warning in advance) was a very familiar form of American power: a punitive strike, aimed at restoring the "red line" against chemical weapons that President Obama drew in 2010 but never enforced. His starting point is holding Russian Federation responsible for breaking its promise to clear Syria of chemical weapons.
The missile strike on al-Shayrat airfield appeared to violate two of Trump's key foreign policy nostrums: don't get entangled in Middle East wars, and focus on destroying Islamic State.
In a special session of the UN Security Council in New York, Russia's ambassador to the UN Vladimir Safronkov accused Britain of "arrogance" and defended its role. Mr Trump said it was "certainly possible" though "probably unlikely". Giving Tillerson a chilly reception, Lavrov said Russian Federation was trying to understand the "real intentions" of the Trump administration.
Lavrov criticized the USA for airstrikes on the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, warned that similar action was unacceptable to Russian Federation, and chided the Trump administration for an inconsistent foreign policy and vacant positions at the State Department. As the Federal Bureau of Investigation and multiple congressional committees investigate potential collusion between Russian Federation and Trump's campaign, Trump can point to his hard-line stance on Assad as fresh evidence that he's willing to stand up to Putin.
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