| Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a meeting with his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Muallem in Moscow, Russia, April 13, 2017 |
Russia and the United States have a shared understanding that US air strikes on Syria should not be repeated, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Moualem in Moscow on Thursday, Interfax news agency reported.
He said this was “concluded” during Wednesday’s visit of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to Moscow.
But in Washington, the US State Department said Tillerson did not eliminate the possibility the United States may undertake future strikes.
“The secretary explained there were no subsequent targets after the missile strike, but he did not rule out any future action,” State Department acting spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement.
“He stressed that Russia is in a position to use its influence over the Assad regime to ensure it is never again necessary for the US to act,” Toner said.