Rex Tillerson is in Moscow for his toughest challenge as top diplomat amidst a deepening row over Syria. The US and Russia have traded criticism over a suspected chemical attack and the US missile response.
Image: Reuters/M. Shemetov
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Travelling to Moscow on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson became the first high-ranking official from the Trump administration to do so. The top diplomat and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov were expected to discuss Syria and the deteriorating security situation in Libya.
Ahead of the visit, Tillerson said Russia must choose between aligning itself with the US and likeminded countries or embracing Syrian President Bashar Assad, Iran and the militant group Hezbollah.
The US secretary of state added that the US sees no future role for Assad in Syria, but that Washington isn't pre-supposing how Assad's departure will occur. Russia's foreign ministry, meanwhile, said it hoped for "productive talks."
As the former CEO of petroleum giant Exxon Mobil, Tillerson has a lot of business experience in Russia, but none as a government emissary. Coming amidst escalating tensions over a recent gas attack in Syria, the Secretary of State is likely to face his toughest diplomatic challenge yet.
"Rex Tillerson will probably tell the Russians that there are no further plans for military operations in Syria," security and foreign policy expert Thomas Wright of the Brookings Institution told DW. It is a difficult matter to predict, as the Trump administration has changed tack on Syria several times in recent weeks.
G7 to Russia: Help end war in Syria
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Last week, after years of avoiding direct military strikes in Syria, the US launched an attack on a Syrian air base in response to a suspected chemical attack that killed at least 86 people and injured hundreds.
Moscow has supported Assad's claims that the tragedy was the result of Islamist rebels stockpiling the nerve agent sarin in a warehouse that was targeted in an airstrike.
G7 pushes tough talk to Moscow
Time will tell if US President Donald Trump is pivoting towards taking a tougher stance on Russia after numerous officials in his campaign and transition teams have been implicated in cases of legally dubious ties to Russian officials.
Thus far, the administration has insisted that it will "take additional action, as necessary and appropriate," if Assad continues to use illegal chemical weapons.
The Kremlin, for its part, called the US missile strike "a flagrant violation of international law and an act of aggression."
Tillerson's trip comes hot on the heels of his visit to Italy for a G7 summit, where Russia's role in Syria topped the agenda. According to German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, Washington is seeking "non-violent, non-military" solutions in Syria.
"We emphatically support him in his endeavors…in Moscow," said Gabriel of Tillerson. "I believe that it is almost inconceivable that Russia wants to stand on the side of such a murderous regime as that of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the long haul."
Who's fighting in the Syria conflict?
Syria's civil war erupted out of the Arab Spring protests that swept much of the Middle East and North Africa in 2011. The conflict has since drawn in multiple warring factions from around the world.
Image: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images
War with no end
Syria has been engulfed in a devastating civil war since 2011 after Syrian President Bashar Assad lost control over large parts of the country to multiple revolutionary groups. The conflict has since drawn in foreign powers and brought misery and death to Syrians.
Image: picture alliance/abaca/A. Al-Bushy
The dictator
Syria's army, officially known as the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), is loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and is fighting to restore the president's rule over the entire country. The SAA has been fighting alongside a number of pro-Assad militias such as the National Defense Force and has cooperated with military advisors from Russia and Iran, which back Assad.
Turkey, which is also part of the US-led coalition against IS, has actively supported rebels opposed to Assad. It has a tense relationship with its American allies over US cooperation with Kurdish fighters, who Ankara says are linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighting in Turkey. Turkey has launched multiple military offensives targeting Kurdish militias.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/L. Pitarakis
The eastern guardian
The Kremlin has proven to be a powerful friend to Assad. Russian air power and ground troops officially joined the fight in September 2015 after years of supplying the Syrian army. Moscow has come under fire from the international community for the high number of civilian casualties during its airstrikes. However, Russia's intervention turned the tide in war in favor of Assad.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Tass/M. Metzel
The western allies
A US-led coalition of more than 50 countries, including Germany, began targeting IS and other terrorist targets with airstrikes in late 2014. The anti-IS coalition has dealt major setbacks to the militant group. The US has more than a thousand special forces in the country backing the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/A.Brandon
The rebels
The Free Syrian Army grew out of protests against the Assad regime that eventually turned violent. Along with other non-jihadist rebel groups, it seeks the ouster of President Assad and democratic elections. After suffering a number of defeats, many of its members defected to hardline militant groups. It garnered some support from the US and Turkey, but its strength has been greatly diminished.
Image: Reuters
The resistance
Fighting between Syrian Kurds and Islamists has become its own conflict. The US-led coalition against the "Islamic State" has backed the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias. The Kurdish YPG militia is the main component of the SDF. The Kurds have had a tacit understanding with Assad.
Image: Getty Images/A. Sik
The new jihadists
"Islamic State" (IS) took advantage of regional chaos to capture vast swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014. Seeking to establish its own "caliphate," IS has become infamous for its fundamentalist brand of Islam and its mass atrocities. IS is on the brink of defeat after the US and Russia led separate military campaigns against the militant group.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo
The old jihadists
IS is not the only terrorist group that has ravaged Syria. A number of jihadist militant groups are fighting in the conflict, warring against various rebel factions and the Assad regime. One of the main jihadist factions is Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which controls most of Idlib province and has ties with al-Qaeda.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Nusra Front on Twitter
The Persian shadow
Iran has supported Syria, its only Arab ally, for decades. Eager to maintain its ally, Tehran has provided Damascus with strategic assistance, military training and ground troops when the conflict emerged in 2011. The Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah also supports the Assad regime, fighting alongside Iranian forces and paramilitary groups in the country.
