Trump continues to be vague about Russia, but Tillerson offers specifics on cooperation
His boss might be equivocal or vague where Russia is concerned, but Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has some concrete ideas for Vladimir Putin.
With Syria and the fight against Islamic State militants at the top of the agenda when President Trump and the Russian leader are set to meet Friday, Tillerson on Thursday listed specific areas of potential U.S.-Russian cooperation.
Tillerson raised the possibility of establishing no-fly zones in Syria and deploying on-the-ground monitors, components that previous administrations, and especially the Pentagon, have resisted as being too difficult to sustain â€" and that Moscow largely ignored.
But Tillerson said U.S.-Russian cooperation over "de-confliction zones," aimed at keeping rival forces from bumping into each other, has shown the two nations are "capable of further progress." Russia backs the Syrian regime while the U.S. supports the anti-government rebels.
"The United States is prepared to explore the possibility of establishing with Russia joint mechanisms for ensuring stability, including no-fly zones, on the ground cease-fire observers and coordinated delivery of humanitarian assistance," Tillerson said.
"While there are no perfect options for guaranteeing stability, we must explore all possibilities for holding the line against the resurgence of ISIS or other terrorist groups," Tillerson said, using an acronym for Islamic State.
"The United States and Russia certainly have unresolved differences on a number of issues," he added, "but we have the potential to appropriately coordinate in Syria in order to produce stability and serve our mutual security interests."
Tillerson called on the many parties in Syria "to avoid conflict with one another and adhere to agreed geographical boundaries for military de-conflict ion and protocols for de-escalation."
The secretary spoke before leaving early Thursday for Hamburg, Germany, to join Trump at the Group of 20 summit. Tillerson's departure was unexpectedly delayed by several hours because of airplane mechanical problems.
To many, Tillerson's comments sounded like an opening bid to Putin. A State Department spokeswoman, Heather Nauert, cautioned, however, that the "joint mechanisms" were among "a lot of options" the administration is exploring, and she insisted that "overall policy" has not changed.
She did not say whether Tillerson will be present at the Trump-Putin meeting.
Tillerson singled out Russia and its "special responsibility" in stabilizing Syria.
He also urged Russia to "remove obstacles to the defeat of ISIS and help provide stability that prevents ISIS from rising anew from the ashes of their failed and fraudulent caliphate."Â
Officially, Russia has joined the fight against Islamic State in Syria, but according to U.S. military and intelligence services, it primarily targets militias who are battling the brutal regime of President Bashar Assad.
Aboard his jet shortly before takeoff, Tillerson added that the meeting between Trump and Putin, at which many fear the experienced Russian will outmaneuver the novice American leader, was a "beginning" and what he hoped would be the first step in rebuilding confidence between Moscow and Washington.
"It's difficult to say what Russia's intentions are in this relationship," Tillerson said. The purpose "is to have a good exchange between President Trump and President Putin over what they both see as the nature of the relationship between our two countries."
On Syria, Tillerson said Russia had the obligation to prevent Assad from using chemical weapons and to prevent his forces from re-occupying "illegitimately" areas freed from Islamic State control. There is wide suspicion that Assad and his Russian and Iranian bac kers will attempt to take the territory where U.S.-supported forces have driven out Islamic State.
Nauert, the State Department spokeswoman, briefed reporters in Washington on Thursday. She rejected a suggestion that Trump would "sell out" Ukraine to Russia. Trump has not been an enthusiastic supporter of U.S. and European sanctions imposed on Moscow after Putin invaded Ukraine and occupied the Crimean peninsula in 2014, and there has been speculation he might agree to lift the U.S. portion of those sanctions as a friendly gesture to Putin.
Tillerson is scheduled to travel to the Ukrainian capital of Kiev after the Hamburg summit.
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