Trump And Tillerson Blame Putin
Putin Patrols | Photo Credit Fox News President Trump and SecState Tillerson are isolating Russian President Vladimir Putin for backing the Syrian government and their use of lethal, chemical weapons on civilians. The Trump administration has publicly chastised Putin’s backing.
Trump also said Putin was partially to blame for the attack because he backed President Bashar al-Assad, who he referred to as an “animal.” Back at the White House, Trump also said Russia may have known about the attack before it happened, making U.S.-Russia relations an “all-time low.”
Soviet Relations At All-Time Low
NYU Professor of Russian Studies, Stephen Cohen, explains:
“I’ve been doing this for forty years and I don’t remember a Soviet or post-Soviet leader saying [we’re on the brink of war]. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev American-Russian relations are absolutely ruined. What’s important is that Medvedev is considered to be the most pro-Western member of the Putin leadership. He’s the guy that Obama and Clinton tried to base the reset on…”
“The politics in Russia today, as we talk, is that America is preparing war against Russia, if not in Syria, then on the other two Cold War fronts. NATO is building up in an unprecedented way. So Russia is really wound tight, and this is not good, because they have nuclear weapons and because accidents happen.”
Russia’s Ties With Syria
Syria Attack | Photo Credit Fox News
The New York Times reports:
“There is a low level of trust between our countries,” Mr. Tillerson told reporters at a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov. “The world’s two foremost nuclear powers cannot have this kind of relationship.”
“The most immediate casualty of the clash was Russia’s decision last week to suspend a communication channel, set up in 2015, to share information about American and Russian air operations over Syria to avoid possible conflict. Mr. Lavrov said on Wednesday that “we’re willing to put it back into force” if Washington and Moscow can resolve their differences.”
