Trump’s bromance with Putin is history
US missile strike on Moscow’s ally Syria strains relations
The bromance between President Donald 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 dictator, condemned the U.S. cruise missile attack on a Syrian airfield Friday morning as an “act of aggression in violation of international law.”
The overnight missile strike was careful to avoid Russian personnel or equipment in Syria. “Our target in this attack was not Russia,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said. The U.S. gave Russia advance notice to be safe. That did not prevent Putin from rebuking a fellow leader who no longer seems to be a pal.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it suspended an agreement with the Pentagon to share communication about U.S. and Russian aircraft conducting separate missions over Syria to avoid mishaps.
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 ISIS militants. Russia’s decision in 2015 to enter Syria’s civil war with airstrikes against Assad’s opponents strengthened the dictator’s grip on the country when it looked perilous.
Trump ordered the strike in retaliation for Assad’s alleged use of chemical weapons Tuesday in a rebel-held town, but Russia defended the regime, 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 6-year-old civil war, defeat the Islamic State in Syria and let Assad stay in power.
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 last fall.