Tillerson: Russia failed to ‘live up to its commitments under the chemical weapons agreements’
Sec. Tillerson to @GStephanopoulos: "The real failure here has been Russia's failure" to live up to commitments on Syria's chemical weapons pic.twitter.com/Ffu9ki2oL2
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) April 9, 2017
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said during an interview broadcast Sunday that Russia has not fulfilled its commitment under chemical weapons agreements.
“I’m disappointed because I think the real failure here has been Russia’s failure to live up to its commitments under the chemical weapons agreements that were entered into in 2013,” Tillerson said during an interview on ABC’s “This Week.”
“Both by the Syrian government and by Russia as the guarantor to play the role in Syria of securing chemical weapons, destroying the chemical weapons and continuing to monitor that situation.”
{mosads}Tillerson said the recent chemical attack in Syria “in large measure is a failure on Russia’s part to achieve its commitment to the international community.”
Last week, the U.S. launched a missile strike on a Syrian military air base in retaliation for a chemical attack in northern Syria that the U.S. has blamed on the administration of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The U.S. is asking for Russia to fulfill its commitment and is calling on Assad to “cease the use of these weapons,” Tillerson said.
Other than that, he said, there is “no change to our military posture” in Syria.
Tillerson noted he hopes Russia will be “supportive of a process that will lead to a stable Syria.”
“I hope Russia is thinking carefully about its continued alliance with Bashar al-Assad,” he said, “because every time one of these horrific attacks occurs, it draws Russia closer into some level of responsibility.”
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