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Trump Officials Tell Russia to Stop Supporting Assad

“I hope Russia is thinking carefully about its continued alliance.”

Trump Cabinet members are cautioning Russia to reconsider its relationship with President Bashar al-Assad in the wake of Syrian chemical attacks that killed more than 80 people last week, most of them civilians. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster said Sunday on Fox News: “I think what we should do is ask Russia: How could it be, if you have advisers at that airfield, that you didn’t know that the Syrian air force was preparing and executing a mass-murder attack with chemical weapons?” On ABC, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said “I hope Russia is thinking carefully about its continued alliance with Bashar al-Assad, because every time one of these horrific attacks occurs, it draws Russia closer into some level of responsibility.” Tillerson is set to visit Moscow this week. He was in Italy on Monday for a G7 meeting, and participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at a memorial to 560 villagers who were murdered by Nazis in 1944. “We re-dedicate ourselves to holding to account any and all who commit crimes against the innocents anywhere in the world,” said Tillerson. “This place will serve as an inspiration to us all.”