Tillerson was allowed to meet with Putin after all. Here comes the bargaining.https://twitter.com/sputnikint/status/852179300069629955 …
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Lavrov: We see attempts to undermine our cooperation with the US, which is short-sighted. When our people cooperate, the whole world wins.
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Lavrov: Despite several problems--both objective and artificial--we are open to cooperation with the US.
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Tillerson: US-Russia relationship has been at a low point. The world's two foremost nuclear powers cannot have this kind of a relationship.
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Tillerson: We agree that we need a unified (!) and stable Syria.
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Tillerson continues to blame Assad for the chemical-weapons attack. In contrast, Lavrov emphasizes the need for an int'l investigation.
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Lavrov: All accusations against Assad are based on remote "evidence" by NGOs like the White Helmets continually proven fraudulent.
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Lavrov: Strangely, the chemical-weapons attack coincided with our Syria conference that changed its agenda.
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Tillerson: Assad family's rule is over. They brought it upon themselves. We think that Assad's departure should be done in an orderly way.
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Tillerson: As time goes on, we think that the threshold to legally charge Assad with war crimes may be achieved.
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Lavrov reminds Tillerson, on the subject of war crimes, of NATO's bombing civilian objects in Serbia.
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Lavrov also reminds Tillerson of the failure of the Iraq war as well as statelessness, migration, and slavery in post-intervention Libya.
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Lavrov: Western obsession with removing certain dictators never ends well.
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Lavrov: We should not focus on removing a certain ruler, but rather on how the Syrian state should work (minority protection, etc.)
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Tillerson says Russia may face more sanctions due to its "election meddling," whereas Lavrov says Tillerson made no such threats. Awkward!
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Tillerson: We have no indication that Russia was involved in the chemical-weapons attack, which was carried out by Syrian "regime forces."
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First impression: Tillerson's statements show no major deviations on Syria (Ukraine, etc.) from the Obama administration.
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Much more experienced Lavrov had facts to back his lengthy statements to every question, and he talked ~70% as compared to Tillerson's 30%.
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Lavrov: We underscored our joint interest in combatting terrorism with our US counterpart.
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Lavrov: It would be counterproductive for UNSC to put all the blame on Damascus in the chemical-weapons attack instead of investigating.
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Lavrov: Russia is willing to resume the US-Russia memorandum in Syria as long as the sole objective is to fight ISIS and Al Nusra.
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Lavrov: Our joint commitment to fighting ISIS remains intact, and we reaffirm it.
End of conversation
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