Trump, after meeting Russian FM, says ‘horrible killing in Syria must stop’

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met first with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson before making his way to meet Trump.
US President Donald Trump met on Wednesday with Russia’s top diplomat in the new administration’s highest profile meeting since it assumed the White House in January.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, on his first official visit to Washington since Trump’s election, met first with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

The president, according to Reuters, urged the Russian official during their meeting to help put an end to “the horrible killing in Syria,” saying the civil war in the country “must stop.”

“Trump emphasized the need to work together to end the conflict in Syria, in particular, underscoring the need for Russia to rein in the Assad regime, Iran, and Iranian proxies,” the White House said in a statement.

Over half a million people have lost their lives in the Syrian civil war since it began in 2011, according to the UN.

Following his meeting with the president, Lavrov said that his discussions with people in the Trump administration persuaded him they were people of action who wanted to cut deals and solve problems.

 

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