At their meeting, Lavrov told Tillerson Moscow was hoping to understand Washington's "real intentions" and warned that Moscow considered it "fundamentally important" to prevent more "unlawful" USA strikes against its ally Syria.
While most immediate, U.S. He added that Moscow and Washington understand each other better after the talks.
Speaking after several hours of talks with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, he said Russian Federation has no intention to "shield anyone".
The resolution also pushed for the Syrian government to cooperate with investigators on the deadly attack. Instead, Moscow maintains the Syrian army hit a rebel depot containing chemical weapons. Putin's decision to host Tillerson signaled Moscow's intent to maintain communication with the US even as the countries bash each other publicly in louder and louder tones. He met with both Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin earlier Wednesday.
"If they use chemical weapons, they are going to pay a very, very stiff price", Mattis told reporters during his first Pentagon briefing as secretary. According to President Putin, President Trump's decision to attack Syria with 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles is not something that they should take lightly.
"The very statehood of Libya is even in danger right now", the Russian foreign minister pointed out. In an interview with the Fox Business Network, Trump said he was not planning to order US forces into Syria, but that he had to respond to the images of dead children poisoned in the gas attack.
The intensive diplomatic action came as the UN Security Council was set to vote on a draft resolution drawn up by the US, Britain and France calling on the Syrian regime to co-operate with a probe into the chemical weapons attack.
"The use of chemical weapons against civilians is horrific, but the fact is that President Trump's military action violates the constitution and U.S. treaty obligations under the United Nations charter", said Hina Shamsi, the director of the National Security Project at the American Civil Liberties Union.
Russian Federation has cut the hotline in response following a USA strike on a Syrian air base last week.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at the Kremlin in Moscow.
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The meeting comes hours after U.S. secretary of state faced his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
Russian Federation vetoed a Western-backed United Nations resolution that would have condemned the reported use of chemical weapons in a Syrian town and demanded a speedy investigation into the attack that killed almost 90 people.
"What we do know- and we have very firm and high confidence in our conclusions- that the attack was carried out and planned by the regime forces at the direction of al-Assad", Tillerson said.
The White House has accused Moscow of trying to cover up Assad's use of chemical weapons after the attack on a rebel-held Syrian town last week killed 87 people last week.
He has since made his support of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies clear, but has reiterated his stance that European members need to meet their end of the bargain if they are to continue benefiting from the military alliance.
Just as Tillerson sat down for talks, a senior Russian official assailed the "primitiveness and loutishness" of US rhetoric, part of a volley of statements that appeared timed to maximize the awkwardness during the first visit by a member of Trump's cabinet. Putin said that Russian Federation saw some very troubling actions regarding the attack on Syria and that it was fundamentally important not to let those actions happen again. Spicer, Haley, and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster have all given conflicting remarks over the past several days on whether the missile strike augurs a regime change in Syria.
Meanwhile, in a Tuesday morning interview with Fox Business News' Maria Bartiromo, Trump described Assad as "an animal" and said Putin is "backing a person that's truly an evil person". Haley also accused Iran of being "Assad's chief accomplice in the regime's horrific acts", adding: "Iran is dumping fuel on the flames of this war in Syria so it can expand its own reach". He tells Fox Business Network that Putin's support for Assad is "very bad for Russian Federation".
But Spicer said "going in and occupying Syria for the express objective of regime change is something the president has been very clear on".
The US position on Syria is still woefully unclear, as Trump has made no comprehensive statement on Syria since last week's missile attack.
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