A "window of opportunity" exists to convince Moscow to end its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, British Prime Minister Theresa May and US President Donald Trump said in a phone call Monday.
Tillerson said it was clear the US saw no role for Assad in Syria's future, given that he had lost legitimacy.
As Tillerson landed in Moscow, senior White House officials briefed reporters on declassified US intelligence they said disproved Russia's claim that rebels were responsible for the chemical weapons.
He also said that Russian-brokered talks in Astana had "not produced much progress", adding that he had hope that a process underway in Geneva over Syria's political future would be fruitful.
Lavrov says Russian Federation has lots of questions about the "very ambiguous" and "contradictory" ideas coming from the U.S. He says through a translator that it's important for Russian Federation to understand the "real intentions" of the Trump administration.
He said the USA can not allow the use of chemical weapons to happen again.
Washington retaliated with an air strike on a Syrian air base, the first time the United States has directly intervened against the Assad regime which it has blamed for the attack on civilians.
"Is that a long term alliance that serves Russia's interests?"
Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations are gathering in Lucca for a meeting given urgency by the chemical attack in Syria and the USA military response, with participants aiming to pressure Russian Federation to end its support for President Bashar Assad.
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"It has become even more hard for Trump, but it is now even more hard for Putin as well, because he has to show he is a strong leader and that he will not yield under the USA pressure", Russian International Affairs Council Director Andrey Kortunov told CBS News.
Speaking to Sputnik, Pavel Svyatenkov described the USA missile attack on Syria as another attempt to worsen the negotiating positions of Moscow ahead of Tillerson's talks with Lavrov.
The G7 blames Assad's military for a deadly chemical attack last week.
But Alfano said isolating Russian Federation or pushing it into a corner "would be wrong".
Alfano says Russian Federation should put pressure on Assad to stop the use of chemical weapons, and should join an worldwide push for peace in Syria. It's unclear whether Putin will grant Tillerson a meeting.
Putin said on Tuesday Russia would be urgently asking the global chemical weapons watchdog - the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons - to investigate the incident.
Beyond Syria, Russia's alleged meddling in the U.S. presidential election also hovered over what was the first face-to-face encounter between Mr Putin and any Trump administration Cabinet member.
Lavrov blasted US claims that it has "irrefutable evidence" of election interference. The U.S. and others have said that Russian Federation bears responsibility for the deaths of civilians at the hands of Assad given Moscow's role in guaranteeing the 2013 deal in which Assad was supposed to have given up his chemical weapons arsenal.
The meeting brought together Foreign Ministers from the US, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.




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