Russian Federation reset redux? Trump tries where predecessors failed

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Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the relationship between Moscow and Washington is "at a low point". Russian Federation wants an worldwide investigation of the chemical attack, Lavrov told reporters in Moscow, but the resolution offered by the US and its allies was aimed "more at legitimizing the arguments against Damascus". He said the two sides would also discuss disagreements on Syria and how to end the country's six-year civil war.

The Kremlin leader again slammed the U.S. missile strike and angrily rejected the allegation that Assad s forces were behind the suspected chemical attack on the town of Khan Sheikhun that left 87 civilians dead including children.

The United States and its allies accused Damascus of gassing civilians on April 4, but Russian Federation said the intoxication was possibly caused by the explosion of chemical weapons produced and stored by the rebels in a local depot during a raid by the Syrian Air Force.

The toxic gas attack on April 4 prompted the USA to launch missile strikes on a Syrian air base and widened a rift between United States and Russian relations.

"We both have agreed our lines of communication shall always remain open", Tillerson said.

"Every administration tries to improve relations, but there is a very basic fundamental fact: Across the geopolitical chessboard the US and Russian Federation have fundamentally very different interests", said Harry Kazianis, a senior fellow for defense policy at the Center for the National Interest, a Washington think tank advocating "realistic" foreign policy.

After last week's strikes, Ryan said the United States military response was "fully within the President's authority".

Trump's comments on the state of U.S.

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"Today the president confirmed our readiness to return to its implementation on the understanding that the original aims of the air forces of the American coalition are reaffirmed, namely the fight with IS (Daesh) and Al-Nusra", Lavrov said.

"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.

"I hope Russian Federation is thinking carefully about its continued alliance with Bashar al-Assad, because every time one of these horrific attacks occurs, it draws Russian Federation closer into some level of responsibility", Tillerson said on ABC's "This Week.". That runs counter to claims by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons that attacks using chlorine in 2014 and 2015.

Until the chemical attack, the Trump administration had sought to step back from the USA position that Assad should leave power. I have absolutely no doubt we did the right thing.

In some ways, Russia's veto isn't surprising.

Only weeks ago, it appeared that Trump, who praised Putin throughout the US election campaign, was poised for a potentially historic rapprochement with Russian Federation.

His comments came moments before President Donald Trump said relations with Russian Federation had reached a "all-time low".

While the most immediate U.S.

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