May, Trump agree Russia should break ties with Assad - UK PM's office

[webfact]

May, Trump agree Russia should break ties with Assad - UK PM's office

REUTERS

 

File photo: U.S. President Donald Trump walks with British Prime Minister Theresa May after their meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 27, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

 

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May spoke on Monday to U.S. President Donald Trump and agreed that "a window of opportunity" now exists to persuade Russia to break ties with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, May's office said.

 

A spokeswoman for the prime minister said Trump had thanked May for her support following last week's U.S. military action in Syria against the Assad regime.

 

In a shift in Washington's strategy, U.S. missiles hit a Syrian air base last week in retaliation for what the United States and its allies say was a poison gas attack by Syria's military in which scores of civilians died. The Syrian government has denied it was behind the assault.

 

Trump had previously appeared disinclined to intervene against the Syrian leader and the attack raised expectations that he might now be ready to adopt a tougher-than-expected stance with Russia, Assad's main backer.

 

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is due to travel to Moscow this week and the spokeswoman for May said the two leaders had agreed during their conversation that the visit was an opportunity to make progress towards a solution.

 

"The prime minister and the president agreed that a window of opportunity now exists in which to persuade Russia that its alliance with Assad is no longer in its strategic interest," the spokeswoman said.

 

"They agreed that U.S. Secretary of State Tillerson's visit to Moscow this week provides an opportunity to make progress towards a solution which will deliver a lasting political settlement."

 

The spokeswoman said the two leaders had also stressed the importance of the international community, including China, putting pressure on North Korea to constrain the threat it poses.

 

(Reporting by Kate Holton; Editing by James Dalgleish)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-04-11

[dunroaming]

May should avoid any contact or statements concerning Trump.  I understand that she feels she has to suck up to the moronic president but she is supposed to be representing us and we are disgusted by it.  Or is it just me?

[Maybole]

May has become Trump's poodle

Edited April 11, 2017 by Maybole
spelling mistake

[johnnyonesock]

and we all know whose poodle Trump is

[bendejo]

I'm sure Putin is quaking in his boots and preparing a full-scale abandonment of Assad based on this bit of news. 

 

 

 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

22 hours ago, Maybole said:

May has become Trump's poodle

Have to agree. What is it about British PMs that they seem to roll over every time they go near a US president?

As for including May in the headline, if it wasn't so sad that May seems to think the UK has any influence over Putin, it would be laughable.

Britain lost any real influence in world affairs when it gave away everything post WW2. Just imagine if it had kept the Arabian gulf states and Iraq- all that oil! The Suez debacle showed how impotent Britain really had become, but they kept up the charade for a very long time.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 4/11/2017 at 11:31 PM, dunroaming said:

May should avoid any contact or statements concerning Trump.  I understand that she feels she has to suck up to the moronic president but she is supposed to be representing us and we are disgusted by it.  Or is it just me?

Just you.

[ilostmypassword]

Johnson stung over sanctions against Russia

White House makes Hitler gaffe as leaders reject foreign secretary’s call to punish Putin

 

Boris Johnson was left embarrassed last night after his demands for fresh sanctions against Russia over its backing for President Assad of Syria were publicly rebuffed by European allies.

The final communiqué after a two-day meeting of G7 nations in Lucca, Italy, made no mention of the foreign secretary’s proposal to isolate Vladimir Putin and impose sanctions on Russian military figures. Italy and France rejected Mr Johnson’s position, and one senior Tory described the outcome as a humiliation for Britain.

 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/johnson-stung-over-sanctions-against-russia-s925bppx8?CMP=TNLEmail_118918_1677711

[Thongkorn]

Maybe after ruling a third of the world some experience advice was needed from Britain.