Syria, Russia to top agenda as G7 ministers meet

  Lucca, Monday

The search for a unified approach to the Syria conflict after last week’s suspected chemical attack looks set to dominate talks between the G7 group of leading nations in Italy on Monday.

Foreign ministers from US, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan meeting in Italian city of Lucca will focus on how to pressure Russia to distance itself from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Allies will also be seeking clarity from the US on its Syria policy, after some apparently mixed messages.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson strongly criticised Russia on Sunday.

He said it had failed to prevent Syria from carrying out a chemical attack on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun last Wednesday which left 89 people dead.

But he also clarified there had been “no change to our military posture” in Syria following a retaliatory US strike against a Syrian airbase, and that Washington’s “first priority” in Syria was to defeat the Islamic State terror group.

His statement made it clear that Washington still regards the number one priority in Syria to be the elimination of so-called Islamic State.

Syria peace

Those comments came a day after the US ambassador to the United Nations said there was no way to stabilise Syria with Assad as president.

“In no way do we see peace in that area with Assad as the head of the Syrian government,” Nikki Haley told NBC’s “Meet the Press”.

However, she had said last week that Assad’s removal was no longer a US priority.

UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is expected to press the case for new sanctions against Russia if Moscow does not give ground. “It’s time for Vladimir Putin to face the truth about the tyrant he is propping up,” Johnson said.

Russia is already under a raft of sanctions imposed by the US and EU in response to the annexation of Crimea and the crisis in eastern Ukraine.

These target Russian individuals and businesses, and key sectors of the Russian economy closely connected to the ruling elite.                                                     -BBC

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