Tillerson, Lavrov Meet in Moscow to Discuss Syria

U.S. secretary of state Rex Tillerson met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to pressure Moscow to cease its support for the Syrian government, BBC News reported.

Russia has said it will continue to support its ally, the Syrian government, despite U.S. pressure to cut off ties with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. Moscow has also condemned the U.S. airstrikes on the Syrian government Shayrat airbase.

The U.S. administration has made contradictory claims regarding its Syria policy, with U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley saying Assad must step down, while defense secretary James Mattis and Tillerson have said the U.S. priority in Syria continues to be the fight against the so-called Islamic State.

Moscow has “a lot of questions regarding very ambiguous and contradictory ideas (…) coming from Washington,” Lavrov said. Tillerson said he anticipated a “candid” exchange.

U.S. Accuses Russia of Helping Syria Cover Up Attack

Washington accused Moscow of protecting the Syrian government from blame for a suspected chemical weapon attack in Syria, Reuters reported.

Russia has defended Bashar al-Assad from allegations that Syrian government forces used chemical weapons in an attack on a rebel-held town that left 87 people dead in Khan Sheikhoun last Tuesday. The U.S. sent 59 cruise missiles into Syria on Thursday, targeting Shayrat airbase, which it said the government had used to launch its alleged chemical weapons attack.

“It’s clear that the Russians are trying to cover up what happened there,” a White House official told Reuters.

U.S. president Donald Trump insists that he does not plan to “go into” Syria, now in its seventh year of war.

Evacuation Agreement Delayed for Four Towns

An agreement to evacuate the residents of four besieged towns on Wednesday morning was delayed for logistical reasons, according to the United Kingdom-based monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Nearly 65,000 people live in the two towns besieged by government forces outside Damascus, Madaya and Zabadani, and in the two towns besieged by rebels in Idlib province, Fou’a and Kafraya. The evacuation was reportedly delayed because the buses have not arrived yet at Fou’a and Kafraya. The four towns’ fates were tied together in a September 2015 agreement that stipulated aid and evacuations could only be administered to one town if it were administered to the rest, simultaneously.

A prisoner and body exchange was carried out early Wednesday morning between the four towns, mediated by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.

RECOMMENDED READS:

• The Century Foundation: For Syria, There’s Money for Missiles, But No Funding for Food
• The Washington Post: Why Would Assad Use Sarin in a War He’s Winning? To Terrify Syrians
• The New York Times: In Syria and Nigeria, Trump Faces Limits of American Power
• The Associated Press: Fact Check: Overlooking Doubts on Syria Chemical Weapons
• Syria Direct: Hardline Islamists Drove Me From Opposition Back to Assad: Says Regime Negotiator