Putin meets Tillerson amid Syria turmoil

Despite speculations to the contrary, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. There was speculation this would not happen due to the tension between the two nations.

"Russian President Vladimir Putin is meeting US Secretary of State Tillerson and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov at the Kremlin," Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Peskov did not elaborate on what the three discussed. Earlier in the day, Tillerson held a meeting with Sergey Lavrov.

The top US diplomat is visiting Moscow amid a conflict over the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria. The US blamed the incident, which happened almost two weeks ago, on Damascus, and retaliated with a barrage of cruise missiles targeting a Syrian airbase.

Russia called it a possible false flag operation and said the US attack was an act of international aggression. It also said more provocative incidents involving toxic agents may follow in Syria, now that the Trump administration has demonstrated it can be baited into the reaction that the enemies of Damascus want from it.

Moscow believes a proper investigation, including at the scene of the reported attack, is necessary to establish the truth.

--IANS

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