Putin meets Tillerson as US, Russia wrangle over Syria

April 12, 2017 23:08

After Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson waited for much of the day, wondering whether he would get to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the two men sat down at the Kremlin late Wednesday afternoon in the first face-to-face meeting between the Russian leader and a top official in the Trump administration.

Relations between the United States and Russia have grown so tense that it was unclear whether Putin would agree to see Tillerson, a man he once gave a medal of friendship.

Earlier, Putin complained of worsening ties with Donald Trump's administration as the two sides spar over Syria.

Putin received Tillerson at the Kremlin along with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after the top diplomats held several hours of talks dominated by the fallout of an alleged chemical attack in Syria.

Despite initial hopes in Moscow of better ties with the US under Trump, the two powers have descended into a furious war of words over the incident and a retaliatory US missile strike against the forces of Moscow's ally Bashar al-Assad last week.

Russia has slammed Washington's attack on a Syrian airbase and, as Tillerson met Lavrov, Putin admitted that relations between Washington and Moscow have worsened in the three months that Trump has been in office.

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

Neeraj vows to win next Diamond League meet after close second in Doha

Olympic and World champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra vowed to go one step ahead in the next Diamond League meeting after finishing a close second during the Doha leg on Friday.

Saudi Prince Muhammad bin Salman defers Pakistan visit

Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman's much-anticipated visit to Pakistan has been deferred for unspecified reasons, a report said on Saturday.

CSK need their batters to fire in key game vs Royals

In need of a victory to firm-up their position in the IPL play-offs race, Chennai Super Kings have the heavy task of nullifying a deeply hurt and frustrated Rajasthan Royals in Chennai on Sunday.

Cong leader clarifies 'Rs 2 lakh for two wives' remark

Former Union minister and Congress' Lok Sabha candidate from Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh, Kantilal Bhuria, who has courted a controversy with his 'two wives' remark, has clarified that he passed the comment sarcastically in response to a...

Prajwal Revanna sex videos: BJP leader held, taken for questioning

Several explicit videos involving Prajwal started making the rounds ahead of the first phase of Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka, which took place on April 26.