US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that Moscow must choose between good relations with the US and its allies and support for Iran, Hezbollah and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (Photo: AP / Evan Vucci)
Russia must make a choice: either good relations with the US and its allies, or support for Iran, Hezbollah and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Tuesday, after a meeting with foreign ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized economies, held in Italy. The statement was made right before Tillerson’s visit to Moscow, where he plans to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and possibly with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We want to relieve the suffering of the Syrian people. Russia can be a part of that future and play an important role,” Tillerson said. “Or Russia can maintain its alliance with this group, which we believe is not going to serve Russia’s interests longer term.”
He also stressed that the US does not see any role for Assad in the future of the Arab country, noting that he had lost legitimacy.
“It is clear to all of us that the reign of the Assad family is coming to an end,” the US Secretary of State said. “But the question of how that ends and the transition itself could be very important in our view to the durability, the stability inside of a unified Syria.”
Speaking about the talks in the Kazakh capital of Astana, Tillerson pointed out that if the negotiations succeed in creating a durable ceasefire, Russia and Iran could generate momentum toward broader talks about a political transition in the country. He also stressed that the final political talks would take place in Geneva under the auspices of the UN.
“To date, Astana has not achieved much progress,” the diplomat said.
He also raised the topic of a chemical attack, carried out in the Syrian province of Idlib. Tillerson noted that it was unclear whether Moscow had failed to take seriously its obligation to clear Syria of chemical weapons, or had merely been incompetent. The diplomat pointed out that the distinction “doesn’t much matter to the dead,” as well as stressed that “we cannot let this happen again.”
Meanwhile, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that Russia does not consider the Tillerson’s statements on Syria, made before his visit to Moscow, as an ultimatum.
“Not as an ultimatum, I regard it as a political statement, as such a show of muscle before the start of the negotiations. This is quite in line with Washington’s approaches,” Zakharova said, appraising the statements of the US Secretary of State, made just before his flight to Moscow.
Earlier, press secretary for the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov, pointed out that a “recitation of mantras” on the need of the Assad’s leaving does not bring closer to a political resolution of the Syrian conflict. He noted that the Geneva process and the Astana process, which is a reinforcing, integral element of the Geneva talks, were launched in order to find a peaceful solution. Peskov stressed that the search for solutions should be carried out precisely within the framework of these processes, with no alternative.
Whats the name of this stage play?
It sounds like a Southpark episode.
Russia: You are either incredibly high or incredibly stupid. What is it? Tillerson: I can assure you I am not high.
You gotta love Southpark.
lol Saddam Hussein is building WMDs in heaven
love that episode
: D i thought he was in hell, and also bossing the devil around at his leisure ?
US has to chose between russia or saudi arabia , i hope lavrov or putin reads this
little correction, between Russia and sauds+isrl
Agreed, it’s the Satanic terrorist state of Israel that’s at the center of all this, Saudi is just a puppet.
yeah , those are way too stupid to achive anything themeselves, all of their infrastructure is built by the west imho
Both. There would be no dollar as a world currency without Saudi oil.
Right on same name guy!
LMAO, so funny quotes from USA administration since, well, long time ago
The USA is the epicentre of the global fuktard manufacturing process….
LMAO why would anyone choose genocidal maniacs like the United Snakes of America. Libya, Iraq, Central America, Vietnam, the Balkans, the Ukraine etc etc Uncle Scam causes misery wherever he pokes his blood stained fingers.
The 90’s are calling, they want their hegemony back. Tillerson is talking with the Neocons who think this is the 1990 Serbia situation all over again. We are dictating to Russia the terms of surrender! Except the current leader isn’t a cowardly alcoholic and Russia is much stronger now. Russia cannot and does not want to invade anyone but they can make attacks very expensive.
about the former president you could say a cowardly alcoholic traitor
What hegemony? Murder in the Balkans and bombing pharmaceutical factories in Libya?
The American people don’t choose these clowns. The oligarchs do. They buy their seats and guarantee the outcome with the voting machines that they own and hack.
What’s the Russian for f*#k off!
Ебать покинуть Тиллерсон ?
Excellent, word perfect.
The US is delusional.
If you say this is because you do not know anything about USA history told by non USA channels.
You would have to explain to me then how it is anything other than complete delusional thinking for Tillerson to imagine there any chance that Russia would choose the US over Syria, knowing the US ultimately seeks to make Russia subservient through endless sanctions and threats of war.
It used to be very aggressive and successful state of whites who had democracy for themselves. At the time, the whites had exactly opposite values from the current american values (they were proud, homophobic, racist, self reliant etc.).
Then they accepted Jews from Russia and the Jews helped oppressed people like blacks to get human rights and more power. They all then helped more immigrants from non-white countries to come to the USA to improve the balance of power further.
In meanwhile the USA was changed from that super successful state of whites to very successful EMPIRE of many races.
The empire, like most empires, needs for its survival either colonies subsidizing the center or a big war. However, the problem is that Russia has nukes.
The rulers of the USA degenerated by generations of easy rule (there was no real competitor) can now only daydream their wet dreams about overkill, lethal power, chirurgic strikes etc.
Which important part of the history of the USA we missed?
That is what happens when you let yourself be trampled by another without doing anything to defend yourself and make you respect. Both Trumps and his European puppets are a ball of cowards. They would never dare to argue and challenge Russia in that way if they knew that Putin was able to use all his military and nuclear power without hesitation against all of them. All the contrary that got Russia, no respect and fear for their null and cowardly reaction to the first American missile attack on their ally Syria. As an attack on a Russian ally is an attack against Russia itself.
Why do you feel Russia must play on the US game board. Just so many lies and dis information for the American public to believe. If indeed 30 tomahawks did not make it to the the Syrian airbase, this is a statement that the Pentagon understands ! There is a lot of loud and stupid statements from MSM and Trump administration that we have seen lately. Putin is much smarter than these political (short sighted) idiots for sure.
I respect your comment even though it is a bit ambiguous for me to agree with him. In the meantime no one knows the future and much less the hidden intention of each ruler. Only time will give reason to the most accurate of the reasonings of each of us my dear friend. Only time.
He should have been smart enough not to let RU initiative go through the window when US had hardly any military presence in Syria in 2015 and a lame duck was sitting in Washington DC.
Your reasoning is sound. What did Putin and Lavrov do to help their closest ally bombed by NATO without UN mandate? It was B Yeltsin back then however later on Putin and Lavrov agreed to send Milosevic to Hague claiming he was too much of a problem for RU. Past behaviors determine the future ones. If Russia fulfilled all its commitments toward its allies in the past I would have been confident of its future role. Since that has not been the case I hold a great measure of skepticism.
“Either you are with us or you are against us” I just knew that this story was giving me acid flashbacks of some bad memory. It’s GWB all over again.
So Rex Tillerson is marching into Moscow, like Manstein dreamed of doing, and dictating terms of surrender. I bet a nickel that the meeting is not going to end in the manner that he expects. BTW Russia seeks to have good relations with all countries, why try to ostracize other countries? This is a U.S. fetish.
and lavrov/putin should offer US a choice: their own country or israel
There is one big difference between Russia and the USA. If you have the USA as an ally, then you never know how long this alliance may hold. It may turn very quickly into the opposite and suddenly you are facing an invasion – like we could see in Iraq. The USA said some years ago to Germany, when the German government complained about the NSA espionage and that “there should not be espionage between friends”, that the USA “has no friends, just interests”. This explains it very well. Russia on the other hand values a long term friendship. It supports Syria since it’s independence from France 1946. It will never drop this support for some short term benefits or for some glas pearls offered by the USA. This is a plain stupid offer from Tillerson. He should know better. And I believe that other nations are watching this scenario very carefully. They see Russia as an reliable ally, who stands to it’s promises even in very difficult times and they see the USA as an opportunistic asshole, who flips sides whenever it provides some advantage. The kurds will have to learn this hard lesson very soon.
Some allies to the US like Saudi Arabia, Israel and somehow Turkey don’t seem to have ever been betrayed, actually the US seem to be rather happy to do the fighting and the dying for their oil / zionist wars in the ME
Not true, its just that in the US invasion of Iraq, the US intended to keep the strategic gains for itself and control the nation (and its resources) directly. The lure of Iraqi oil wealth and the use of the nation as a power-projection springboard to regional full spectrum domination blinded the stupid cunts to the reality of what they were doing.
And in 1947 the Soviet Union supported the creation of the state of Israel, too.
Lots of states did and damn them all.
Yeah, nobody is perfect it seems… many nations would gladly take that back if they had the opportunity…
The US still does not understand that Russia cannot and will not kneel in front of the US AND also has the power to tell the Rapist US , , Niet, Niet Niet.
The empire of chaos is completely insane.
the us polocy id formed by 75% mattis, 20% tillerson and 5% white house
It seems most American politicians belong to mental institution, what normal person would spew such bile?
They are not normal. Their Empire is crashing and the only hand they have left to play is war. Russians historically don’t respond too well to ultimatums.
Yeah, that’s a tough choice to make. Since when does the US want good relations with Russia ! Divide and conquer, it’s a very old game.
The United snakes of America covert operations are in many countries behind which Zionist brain is active.
The zionists are pawns who do American Caesar’s dirty work.
..except the Uh’murikkkan Caesar is a cabal of shekel-grabbers…
Another historically, culturally ignorant US gasbag dug out from under some rock or other. We have nearly 320 million perfectly good people in this country. Almost none of them are in government and those that are have no power or end up in jail.
The US badly needs another revolution.
Good relations with the USA? The US only has ‘interests’ not friends. This is all a con – the US never stops taking no matter how much you give them breaking every fake promise, agreement, contract etc they’ve made the instant it suits them. Russia would be insane to throw Assad under the bus hoping to buy some peace with the neo-cons because it’s 100% guaranteed, that won’t happen. The f**kers are getting ready to do Libya (Hezbollah) and Iran which according to the Saker at least, Russia knows full well. My guess is the only hope we have is if China steps in and tell the neo-cons in no uncertain terms that the regime change BS is _done_ and ‘no’ means no.
No hope in China. Only hope in Him who created haven and earth. Did you catch what Trump said about N Korea? We will deal with it with or without China’s help. ~130 000 chines soldiers on the border with N Korea immediately after the visit of Chinese president to US. China’s role in all these is dodgy. China has been propelled to the status of the third largest economy in the world by world banking and corporate cartels that rule US. Why they did it? Is there a price?
China is going to have to make a choice – leave the sinking ship (US economy) or double down. The US economy is in such bad shape, hollowed out, no jobs, consumers tapped out, their US debt on such shaky grounds… the US threatens them militarily all the time – treats them like sh*t… the choice, you would think, is clear and easy.
China’s shift?
“At a press conference with secretary-general of NATO, President Donald Trump praised China for abstaining from the U.N. resolution. China usually sides with Russia in the Security Council, so the move to abstain represented a significant shift for Beijing.
Trump said it was “wonderful” that China abstained and the U.S. was “honored by that vote,” which came after he met last week with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and the two spoke by phone Tuesday night.” http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/04/12/un-draft-resolution-on-syria-attack-vote-fails-with-russia-veto-china-abstains.html
I’m off to a bad start with my analysis – erring on the side of optimism it seems.
I appreciate your input anyway. Good people have good intentions and all of us judge others by ourselves. I wish those who call the shots have been well intended as they are not.
It ‘s the limit of Southfront (everyone knows who is Tillerson).
Fuck off you US head-chopping, heart-eating rapers.
So Tillerson is saying join us before we collapse. Why would Russia team up with the US after what the US did to Russia after the breakup of the USSR. Russia has offered the hand of peace many times but was rejected by the US and their faithful lap dogs the EU. Looks more like the US is scared shitless not only of Russia, China, Iran and NK but loosing its control globally. South America has already started in their demonstrations against the US now we just have to wait for African nations to do the same.
Looks like a big push coming to try and intimidate Russia . Russia having a naval and air base outside of the Fatherland , and close to Israel is giving them shivers . China sending a token troop deployment would be a perfect move .
Russia has had access to these bases for decades, but now they have been enlarged. Your idea of China token force is fantastic (Trump and others will have to shut the hell up!)
Agree. can you imagine the face of the Americunts if the ChiComs committed 30,000 troops to a “peace-enforcement” taskforce operating alongside an enlarged Russian contingent? The look on Tillersons twisted ugly hate-filled mug would be PRICELESS…
China is aiming for a gorgeous life style rather than war. I see nothing there for poor Syrian people. Agree it would be a game changer.
So after all of Trump’s populist America first, anti interventionist, rhetoric, it’s now just boiled back down to the George Bush 2003 mentality – ‘your either with us or against us’ – and the US has swung back to advocating for more regime change in mid east.
Its called Deep State disease… anyone who gets involved with US politics eventually comes into contact with a fevered carrier in the form of dirty money…
The world has chosen Assad and Iran, including many millions of us Americans! We choose our Christian brothers and sisters in Syria and Iran over the atheist-bigots of Israel and the UK-Empire. The world is now united against the UK Israel and DC-elitist. We have turned the board, changed the rules, and are playing for all or nothing and favor is on the worlds side. Time for DC, London and Tel Aviv to go the way of the Dinosaurs. A New Age has come Upon Us! https://holodomorinfo.com/
You’re schizoid buddy…. one post you scream your hatred against Syria and Assad and repeat the endless Yankistani MSM bullshit of the CW allegations, and now you cheer for global liberationists? Good post, but your agitation against Assad and the secular Syrian state leaves a foul stink in the air….
Not so soon.
Putin must not talk with this guy ! He is just a second range people. Le Levrov talk with him, even-even.
Allegedly, Putin has already refused to meet with Tillerson. Lets hope that’s true and Tillerson goes empty-handed and with his pants around his ankles…