Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
clear sky
weather
OMAN
25°C / 25°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Tillerson carries Syria stance to Moscow as Trump administration speaks for West

981536
981536
minus
plus

LUCCA, Italy/MOSCOW: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson carried a unified message from world powers to Moscow on Tuesday, denouncing Russian support for Syria and taking up America’s traditional role as leader of the West on behalf of Donald Trump’s administration.


Foreign ministers from Group of Seven (G7) major industrialised nations reached no agreement on a British suggestion that sanctions be tightened against Syria and Russia, Italy’s foreign minister said on Tuesday.


British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson had said ahead of the two-day G7 meeting that he wanted to discuss imposing fresh sanctions over last week’s alleged chemical weapons attack in a rebel-held area by Syrian President Bashar al Assad’s air force.


Tillerson took off for Russia on Tuesday from Italy, where he met foreign ministers from the G7. They were joined by Middle East allies to forge a united position on Syria.


Western countries blame Syrian President Bashar al Assad for the gas attack, and Trump responded by firing cruise missiles at a Syrian air base. That has put his administration in open dispute with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has stood firmly by Moscow’s ally Assad, who denies blame.


“It is clear to us the reign of the Assad family is coming to an end,” Tillerson told reporters in Italy before departing the G7 meeting for Moscow. “We hope that the Russian government concludes that they have aligned themselves with an unreliable partner in Bashar al Assad.”


He said Russia had failed in its role as sponsor of a 2013 deal under which Assad promised to give up his chemical arsenal.


“These agreements stipulated Russia as the guarantor of a Syria free of chemical weapons,” Tillerson said. “It is unclear whether Russia failed to take this obligation seriously and whether Russia has been incompetent. But this distinction doesn’t much matter to the dead. We can’t let this happen again.”


In a statement released before Tillerson was due to arrive, Russia said it hoped its meetings with him would be productive but it was concerned about a number of areas of US policy, including on North Korea, Libya and Yemen as well as Syria.


The secretary of state’s role as messenger for a united G7 position is a turning point for Trump, who in the past alarmed allies by voicing scepticism about the value of US support for traditional friends, while calling for closer ties with Moscow.


Tillerson himself is a former boss of the Exxon Mobil oil company which has gigantic projects in Russia. He was awarded Russia’s “Order of Friendship” by Putin in 2013.


Britain and Canada said financial sanctions, imposed on Russia in 2014 over its annexation of territory from Ukraine, could be tightened if Moscow continued to back Assad, although France said this was not discussed deeply at the G7 meeting. Multi-billion dollar Russian oil projects by Exxon are among the biggest deals held up by sanctions. — Reuters


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon