Thomas said the runways were deliberately avoided because the USA was trying to draw a clear line that its military action was in response to the suspected chemical attack, and not a signal of willingness to get more involved in Syria's civil war.
"There is a certain possibility", that the meeting will take place, Peskov said, if Tillerson and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, who are having talks in Moscow, deem it expedient to brief Putin on their discussions. But attempts by USA officials to articulate the plan have only furthered the appearance of a policy still evolving. It is just as clear now that the Obama administration were unable to get Syria to turn over all its chemical weapons. She said that nothing "is off the table" in terms of imposing harsher sanctions on the two countries.
Ford said the USA needs some sort of leverage for negotiations.
But such hopes appeared optimistic as the diplomats outlined their sharply diverging views on Syria. The U.S. also accused Russian Federation of mounting a disinformation campaign aimed at exonerating Assad from blame for the attack. But Tillerson repeated the administration's new belief that "the reign of the Assad family is coming to an end". The U.S. said it has evidence Russia's military helped cover up the use of chemical weapons. And he suggested that possible war crimes charges could be levied against the Syrian leader. However, Russia and Iran - Syria's top allies - are saying they will respond with force if there are any further attacks there. And while other USA airstrikes in Syria have targeted the Islamic State group, the US has acknowledged that civilian casualties sometimes occur. That two-day summit, which opened Monday in Lucca, brings together diplomats from the USA, U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan - all of whom have expressed uniform support for last week's missile strike. It's unclear whether Putin will grant Tillerson a meeting.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called the USA missile strike "an act of aggression against a sovereign state delivered in violation of global law under a far-fetched pretext".
Even before G-7 talks kicked off, Tillerson didn't miss the opportunity to deliver a pointed reference to the suspected Syrian chemical attack.
Lavrov gave Tillerson an icy welcome Wednesday, diving straight into Moscow's grievances with Washington in what would usually be warm welcoming remarks.
His comments came after US President Donald Trump said Mr Putin was backing an "evil person" in Assad, as talks took place in Russian Federation between the countries' chief diplomats.
White House accuses Russian Federation of Syria chemical attack 'cover up'
These evolving and sometimes conflicting messages may leave both allies and adversaries uncertain about where the US stands. The guided-missile destroyer USS Porter fires a Tomahawk land attack missile on April 7, in the Mediterranean Sea.
"We believe it is fundamentally important not to let these actions happen again". Other members of Congress, like Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), the lone vote against the 2001 post-9/11 AUMF now used to justify military action across the Muslim world, have also called on Congress to vote on a Syria AUMF.
"We're not going into Syria", Trump said in an interview with Fox Business. The U.S. also accused Russian Federation of mounting a disinformation campaign aimed at exonerating Assad from blame for the attack.
Yet in the aftermath of the USA airstrikes on Syria, Trump's national security advisor, H.R. McMaster, said the US was careful not to target Syria's sarin stockpile so that they would not be "ignited and cause a hazard to civilians or anyone else". It has received strong support from the American people.
Trump also warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin, in backing Assad, is supporting someone who is "truly an evil person". "I think it's very bad for Russian Federation".
"I think this president has made it very clear that if those actions were to continue, further action will definitely be considered by the United States".
"It [the visit] provides an opportunity, as President [Vladimir] Putin and President [Donald] Trump agreed, to frankly and honestly try to clarify the prospects of our cooperation on all the issues, and first of all, the formation of a broad anti-terrorist front", he said.
President Donald Trump had hinted he would be less interventionist than his predecessors and more willing to turn a blind eye to human rights abuses if it was in US interests.
"The level of trust at the working level, especially at the military level, has not become better but most likely has degraded", Putin said in an interview broadcast Wednesday by state television channel Mir.
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