Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with Russian President Vladimir Putin Wednesday, a State Department spokesman confirmed, bringing the two men face-to-face that comes amid still-sinking tensions between Washington and Moscow.
"You can say that the level of trust on a working level, especially on the military side, has not improved but most likely worsened", Putin said in the transcript of an interview with Mir television released by the Kremlin. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has warned that Russian Federation could become an "island" if it doesn't find a way to save face and side with the U.S. and its allies in opposition to Assad.
The meetings Wednesday "represent a continuation of our communications and discussions and dialogue that began in Bonn", Tillerson said, referring to a G-20 summit on February 16. when he met with Lavrov.
"We struck a deal where got 100 percent of the chemical weapons out", he said. Giving Tillerson a chilly reception, Lavrov said Russian Federation was trying to understand the "real intentions" of the Trump administration.
Amid attempts to "clarify areas of sharp difference", Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov blasted the Trump administration's "ambiguous and contradictory" foreign policy at the start of talks with Tillerson in Moscow Wednesday calling the demand for the Kremlin to abandon Assad "absurd".
The strike was carried out based on allegations that the Syrian air force dropped chemical weapons in airstrikes on Khan Shaykhun in rebel-held Idlib province on April 4, and either or struck a depot containing chemical weapons.
"I will be frank that we have a lot of questions regarding very ambiguous, as well as contradictory, ideas on a whole plethora of bilateral and worldwide agenda coming from Washington", he said through a translator.
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"Everyone wants to restore relations in the Western community after - thanks to the former United States administration - many European countries adopted an anti-Trump position during the election campaign", he said.
His confirmation came after Trump stated in an interview Tuesday that the United States would not escalate its involvement in Syria.
He also criticized USA foreign policy, calling it "ambiguous" and "contradictory". As the Federal Bureau of Investigation and multiple congressional committees investigate potential collusion between Russia and Trump's campaign in last year's USA election, Trump can point to his hard-line stance as fresh evidence that he's far from beholden to the Russian leader.
The Russian leader was responding to a question on the likelihood of further USA military strikes against Syria, following Friday's firing of 59 Tomahawk missiles against the Shayrat airfield. -Russian dispute concerns culpability for the chemical weapons, broader disagreements over everything from Ukraine to Russia's support for once-fringe candidates in European elections are among other sore points. He said U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is considering the request. As the Federal Bureau of Investigation and multiple congressional committees investigate possible collusion between Russian Federation and Trump's campaign, the President and his aides can now point to his hard-line stance on Syrian President Bashar Assad as evidence he's willing to stand up to Mr. Putin.
"Right now we're not getting along with Russian Federation at all", Trump said flatly during a White House news conference.
"I think the. longer term status of President Assad will be decided by the Syrian people", he said.
The deal was suspended after USA missile strikes against the Shayrat airbase following a suspected gas attack in Khan Sheikoun, in an act Moscow labelled "aggression against a sovereign state".
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