Ahead of a meeting between U.S Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and the
Russian government this week in Moscow, top Trump officials have
‘ordered’ Russia to drop its public and military support of Syrian
president Bashar al-Assad or face a deterioration in it’s relationship
with the U.S.
Russia on Friday
reacted to the U.S military strikes on a Syrian airfield after the
Syrian government allegedly used chemical attacks on it’s civilians
killing 89 people- Russia demanded America explain why they attacked a
sovereign nation that was actively fighting ISIS terrorists and pledged
to beef up Syrian air defenses.
Top Trump
officials are now demanding Russia step away from Assad or risk more
trouble with the U.S, with investigations underway to ascertain if
Russia were involved in the chemical attacks on civilians.
“I
hope Russia is thinking carefully about its continued alliance with
Bashar al-Assad, because every time one of these horrific attacks
occurs, it draws Russia closer into some level of responsibility,” Rex
Tillerson, U.S Secretary of State, said on ABC’s “This Week.”
Although
U.S officials acknowledged that they have seen no evidence directly
linking Russia to the attacks, national security adviser H.R. McMaster
said Russia should answer what it knew ahead of the chemical attack
since it has arranged warplanes and air defense systems with associated
troops in Syria since 2015.
“I think what we
should do is ask Russia, how could it be, if you have advisers at that
airfield, that you didn’t know that the Syrian air force was preparing
and executing a mass murder attack with chemical weapons?” McMaster said
on Fox News.
“I think the issue of how Bashar
al-Assad’s leadership is sustained, or how he departs, is something that
we’ll be working [on] with allies and others in the coalition,” said
Tillerson, who after weeks of keeping a low profile was making his debut
on the Sunday morning talk shows. “But I think with each of those actions, he really undermines his own legitimacy.”
“At
least in the short run, it will further complicate efforts to improve
the U.S.-Russia bilateral relationship, which seemed to be Tillerson’s
objective in going to Moscow,” said Jeffrey Mankoff, a Russia analyst at
the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“In the
longer term, the threat of further U.S. intervention is a card that the
U.S. can play to get the Russians to tighten the screws on Assad — on
both the chemical weapons and possibly on accepting a political deal
with the opposition.”
Source: ABC
360L
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