The State Department says Russia's plan to deliver advanced surface-to-air missiles Syrian President Bashar Assad's embattled government should not rule out the possibility that Moscow will work with Washington toward bringing an end to the violence in the Middle East nation.
The Obama administration responded sharply to Russia's announcement Tuesday that it will proceed with the delivery of sophisticated weapons to embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad despite the administration's attempts to get Moscow's help toward peacefully resolving Syria's civil war.
As international discussions on Syria's civil war loom, Sen. John McCain, an open critic of the Obama administration's approach to the civil war, on Monday became the highest-ranking U.S. official to slip into Syria and meet with the forces seeking to overthrow the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting with Syrian opposition leaders and Russia's top diplomat a day after saying the U.S. could soon step up aid to rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is so confused by President Obama's muddled policy toward Syria that he sought advice from a political opponent who served as Moscow's ambassador in Washington 20 years ago. Vladimir Lukin, now Russia's human rights commissioner, told an audience in Moscow on Tuesday that Mr. Putin approached him last week.
The Obama administration's "reset" of its relationship with Russia has largely failed, and in his second term, the president must press Moscow harder on human rights, which are under threat from President Vladimir Putin, Russian opposition leaders and Kremlin critics say.
China’s military fears a major cyberattack against its strategic forces, and communist leaders also worry about cyberstrikes against infrastructure, according to Michael Pillsbury, a former Reagan administration defense-planning chief.
As Secretary of State John F. Kerry met in Berlin with his Russian counterpart, American and European officials said Tuesday that the Obama administration is close to deciding whether to provide direct assistance to rebel forces in Syria.
The first meeting between John F. Kerry as the new secretary of state and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov could be dominated this week by the emotional issue of Americans adopting Russian children, after an explosive exchange between Russian lawmakers and the U.S. ambassador in Moscow.
