Russia failed in its responsibility in Syria:Tillerson
Washington: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Friday ahead of his visit to Moscow next week, that Russia failed in its responsibility to deliver on a 2013 commitment to secure Syria’s chemical weapons.
Tillerson was announced after the US launched cruise missiles against an air base in Syria in retaliation to the chemical weapons attack in Khan Sheikhun in rebel-held Idlib province.
Tillerson said that the US has a very “high level of confidence” that the chemical attacks which killed at least 86 people, including 27 children, were carried out under the direction of Bashar Al Assad’s regime.
He said the US expects wider global support, except from the Assad regime and Russia, to its decision to carry out missile strikes against the Syrian chemical weapons attack.Tillerson said it is important to recognise that Assad has continued to use chemical weapons in these attacks with no response from the international community.Tillerson said overall the situation in Syria is one where Trump Administration’s approach and policy is first to defeat ISIS.
To defeat ISIS is to begin to stabilise areas of Syria, stabilise areas in the south of Syria, stabilise areas around Raqqa through ceasefire agreements between the Syrian regime forces and opposition forces, stabilise those areas, begin to restore some normalcy to them, restore them to local governments,” the Secretary of State said.
