“The world’s two primary nuclear powers can not have this kind of relationship”, Tillerson said in Moscow after hours of meetings with Lavrov and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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“Right now we’re not getting along with Russian Federation at all”, Trump said flatly during a White House news conference.
Asked about Russia’s prior knowledge about the Syrian government’s alleged use of chemical weapons, Trump said it’s “possible”, but “unlikely” that Russian Federation had known in advance of Syria’s plan to launch a chemical weapons attack on its own citizens.
Russian Federation and the USA share the goal of defeating Islamic State in Syria, which is a much greater threat to worldwide security than the Assad regime, he said.
Last week Trump ordered airstrikes on a Syrian air base in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack which killed 80 people and was described by the U.S. as a nerve gas attack carried out by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.
He said the visit – the first to Moscow by a senior Trump administration official – offered an opportunity to clarify the chances of cooperation “above all on the formation of a broad anti-terrorist front”.
He called the USA military action “genius”, and stated that Xi, too, “was OK with it”.
After initially declining a meeting between Rex Tillerson and Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin agreed to it at the last minute.
“The world’s two foremost nuclear powers can not have this type of relationship”, Mr Tillerson warned.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov blasted USA claims that it has “irrefutable evidence” of election interference. He noted a shared vision of an “uncompromising” war on terrorism.
Putin left some unsure whether the meeting was going to happen, after he left Tillerson, a man who he once awarded a medal of friendship and the first Senior Trump official to visit Russian Federation, waiting for hours.
Putin also asserted that Syria has complied with an agreement to dispose of chemical weapons “so far as we know”.
The latest veto on Thursday (local time) saw Russian Federation block a draft resolution backed by the United States, France and Britain to denounce the attack, and require Assad’s government to provide access for investigators and information, such as flight plans.
In Paris, French President Francois Hollande said, “Russia bears a heavy responsibility” by systematically opposing multilateral action to protect its Syrian ally Assad.
Maynes adds, “The Kremlin argues Assad gave up his chemical weapons stores under a 2013 agreement Moscow brokered with the Obama administration; Tillerson has accused Russian Federation of “incompetence” in failing to enforce that deal”. “We are ready to help bring this conflict to an end”.
“Are we going to get involved with Syria?”.
Both the Syrian government and opposition have asked for an independent investigation Safronkov said, “whereas the OPCW is doing nothing, for reasons unknown”.
Russia, in turn, is concerned about NATO’s presence in eastern Europe along its border. It’s my hope that North Atlantic Treaty Organisation will take on an increased role supporting our Iraqi partners in our fight against ISIS, ‘ Trump said.
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Western powers, including the United States, blame the Syrian government for the attack.
