US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has denounced Russia’s “failure” to ensure the elimination of chemical weapons in Syria, on the on the eve of crucial talks in Moscow.
Tillerson said that Russia had failed to uphold commitments it has made to guarantee the elimination of the regime’s chemical weapons stockpiles, and had not made enough progress in peace talks.
But he stopped short of directly calling for the removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, saying that the US “hoped” Assad would go.
Tillerson was speaking at a meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations and Middle Eastern allies in Lucca, Italy, which failed to agree on any new sanctions for Russia and Syria.
Britain had been pushing for new sanctions but IItalian FM Angelino Alfano said agreement was not reached. “There is no consensus on additional new sanctions,” he said.
Tillerson will travel later to Moscow for talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. Russia, the Assad regime’s main ally, has denounced the missile strikes carried out by the US on a Syrian airbase last week.
The strikes were in response to a chemical attack on a rebel-held town in northwest Syria that was widely blamed on the Syrian regime.
In prepared remarks, Tillerson said that Russia had not upheld its agreements under the UN Security Council with regards to controlling and destroying Syrian weapons stockpiles.
“These agreements stipulated Russia, as the guarantor of a Syria free of chemical weapons, would locate, secure, and destroy all such armaments in Syria. Stockpiles and continued use, demonstrate that Russia has failed in its responsibility to deliver on its 2013 commitment,” he said.
“It is unclear whether Russia failed to take this obligation seriously or Russia has been simply incompetent in its ability to deliver on its end of that agreement.”
He also said that Russian-brokered talks in Astana had “not produced much progress,” adding that he had hope that a process underway in Geneva over Syria’s political future would be fruitful.
“And our hope is Bashar al-Assad will not be part of that future,” he said.
Pressed by reporters on the future of Assad, he added: “In terms of the future of Bashar al-Assad, it is important to us that we undertake a political process that leads to the final conclusion of how Syria will be governed. It is our policy for a unified Syria that is governed by the people of Syria. I think it is clear to all of us that the reign of the Assad family is coming to an end.”
