Russia may be offered chance to rejoin G7 if it pulls out of Syria
THE prospect of Russia rejoining the G7 group of the world’s leading industrialised nations will be used as part of a carrot and stick approach to persuade Vladimir Putin to pull out of Syria, The Daily Telegraph understands.
Rex Tillerson, the US secretary of state, will fly to Moscow later this week with an ultimatum from the G7 demanding that the Russian president withdraw his armed forces and end his support for Bashar al-Assad. Threats of new sanctions against Russia could be made if he does not comply.
But alongside the hardline approach being taken by America and its Western allies, diplomats will be working behind the scenes to offer Mr Putin a way to regain his place at the G7, something he is said to covet.
Russia was expelled from what was the G8 in 2014 as a direct response to its annexation of Crimea. Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, tried to shrug off the punishment at the time, saying the G20, of which Russia remains a member, was far more important.
British and American diplomats, however, believe that Mr Putin is desperate to rejoin the G7, which consists of the US, UK, France, Germany, Canada, Italy and Japan. They also believe that his enthusiasm for the Assad regime is waning, and that he is looking for a dignified way out.
One Whitehall source said: “I think Tillerson will be able to travel to Russia with some very clear direction that if Putin wants to have a seat back at the top table of international affairs he has to get rid of Assad.
“We have to give him an exit strategy that allows him to save face.
“Ultimatums don’t tend to work with the Russians. But he can see that Syria is becoming more of a liability than an asset. If he were to force Assad out he could make it clear that Russia was committed to rebuilding Syria, which is in Russia’s interests.”
Russia insisted yesterday it would “respond to any aggression” such as further US air strikes, but military analysts believe Mr Putin wants to avoid any direct clashes with the US, as he knows the Americans have far superior firepower.
Sir Michael Fallon, the Defence Secretary, had earlier accused Russia of being a proxy for the death of 87 civilians, including many children, killed last week in the Khan Sheikhun attack.
He said: “If Russia wants to be ab- solved of responsibility for future attacks, Vladimir Putin needs to enforce commitments to dismantle Assad’s chemical weapons arsenal for good, and to get fully engaged with the UN peacekeeping process. Someone who uses barrel bombs and chemicals to kill his own people simply cannot be the future leader of Syria.”
He reiterated his support for Mr Trump’s cruise missile strike. “By sending Tomahawk missiles to attack the airfield, aeroplanes and equipment believed to be involved, it has sent a strong signal to the Syrian regime to think twice before using gas in the future,” he wrote.
International Development Secretary Priti Patel said Britain will provide medical teams on the ground in Syria following the chemical attack. An extra £7 million of funding will be used on healthcare and medicine across the war-torn country to allow medics to prepare for future emergencies.
Last week the Kremlin indicated a significant softening of its stance when it said its support for Mr Assad was “not unconditional”. That was widely interpreted to mean that, while Russia would fight for Russian assets in Syria, it was prepared to cut Mr Assad loose in the medium to long term.
The Government believes that while Russia has ramped up its rhetoric over the weekend by raising the prospect of war with the West, Mr Putin will respect president Donald Trump as the first world leader prepared to stand up to him in Syria.