A few days before United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is set to leave for Moscow, leaders from around the world have made known their disapproval of Russia’s continued support for the current Syrian regime.
Last Week
Last week a Syrian civilian station was attacked. The chemical weapons used in the melee left over eighty people dead. The United Sates President blamed that the Syrian government for the assault, but President Bashar al-Assad of Syria refuted the claim. The US responded to the attack by ordering a hit on the Syrian airbase said to be behind it. Many parties questioned whether the move made by the US was legal, but the reaction of world leaders this week suggests that no one cares if it was or was not.
Merkel, May show support for Trump’s Military stance against Assad
US State Secretary Tillerson recently said that the country had not changed its stand in Syria and intended to continue aiding in the fight against ISIL in the Middle Eastern region. This answer was in response to the questions directed to the country as to whether it planned on joining in the six-year war that Syria has been engaged in.
Tillerson flying to Russia will give the United States and Russia a chance to come to an amicable decision about how to deal with Syria.
If that does not work, the international community has expressed the view that it is in Russia’s ‘strategic interest’ to go along with the anti-Assad agreement the rest of the world has settled on. Tillerson will meet the foreign ministers from the G7 to decide the fate of the Russians.
According to a statement released by the White House though, it would seem that several European countries have already decided on the best way forward. In a phone call between President Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May, May expressed the British sentiment that Mr. Trump had done the right thing in ‘dealing with’ Assad. The statement also outlined that the two world leaders agreed that it was not in ‘Russia’s best interest’ to continue supporting the Middle Eastern nation.
A spokeswoman for the British Prime Minister commented that both leaders also saw Tillerson’s visit to Moscow as a ‘window of opportunity’ to get Russia to concede to the fact, or at least arrive at a solution. May additionally said that countries like China would be crucial in sealing the fate of the nation, added the spokesperson.
The White House statement released on Monday similarly detailed German Chancellor’s Angela Merkel’s opinion on the matter. According to the statement, President Trump showed his gratitude to Germany for its support in the aftermath of the US strike against Syria. Merkel expressed further support for the idea of Assad being held accountable for the attack that led to the death of Syrian citizens.
The UK and the US both propose sanctions against Syrian and Russian officials directly involved in Syria’s military operations, said British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson. The sanctions would make Russia accountable for its defense of the Syrian president who is alleged to have committed countless atrocities against his people.
