RUSSKI BUSINESS
U. S.- Russia relations cool after Putin condemns Trump- ordered strikes in Syria
The alliance between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin may be over before it could really blossom.
Blame Syrian President Bashar Assad for coming between them.
The Kremlin, a close ally of the Syrian strongman, condemned the U. S. cruise missile attack on a Syrian airfield early Friday as an “act of aggression in violation of international law.”
Russian aircraft support Assad in his fight against rebels, which include the Islamic State, while a U. S.- led coalition is focused exclusively on defeating Islamic State militants.
Trump ordered the strike in retaliation for Assad’s alleged use of chemical weapons in a rebel- held town Tuesday, but Russia defended Assad, saying the chemicals were released when Syrian planes struck a terrorist lab.
The U. S. strike widens the gulf between Trump and Putin over Assad’s future months after the Russian and American presidents seemed to be coming closer to an agreement to join forces to bring an end to Syria’s six- year- long civil war, defeat ISIS in Syria and let Assad stay in power.
After the chemical attack — which killed 86 people, including 27 children — Trump abruptly reversed course, calling for Assad’s ouster, as President Barack Obama had done. The Syrian leader is one of Putin’s few allies in the region.
Even before this week, cutting a deal with Putin may have been wishful thinking for Trump because of the investigations into possible collusion between Russia and Trump campaign aides to disrupt the U. S. presidential election.
Trump said that allegation is bogus but acknowledged that it probably dashes prospects for working more closely with Putin on shared objectives. Now, a partnership seems even more remote.
Dmitry Gorenburg, an analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses, said any hopes of a close relationship between Trump and Putin were dashed amid the domestic political turmoil generated by allegations of close links between Trump and Putin.
“That chance was gone,” Gorenburg said.
On the campaign trail, Trump raised the prospect that Russia, and possibly even Assad, could be partners in the war against the Islamic State despite Assad’s record of brutality against his own people.
The overnight U. S. missile strike was careful to avoid Russian personnel or equipment in Syria.
That did not prevent Putin from rebuking a fellow leader who no longer seems to be a pal.