Tillerson Warns Russia on Syria, Saying Assad Era Is ‘Coming to an End’ -<br />By GARDINER HARRISAPRIL 11, 2017<br />LUCCA, Italy — Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson said on Tuesday<br />that President Bashar al-Assad’s reign in Syria was “coming to an end,” and he warned that Russia was at risk of becoming irrelevant in the Middle East by continuing to support him.<br />Mr. Putin, at an appearance with President Sergio Mattarella of Italy, said on Tuesday<br />that the chemical attack was “worth investigating thoroughly,” and he said Russia would formally ask the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for an inquiry.<br />Mr. Alfano said that any effort to isolate Russia “would be wrong,” adding<br />that the dominant position at the Group of 7 industrialized nations “was dialogue with Russia, not pushing Russia into a corner.”<br />The Italian government has long been uneasy about punishing Russia, which faces sanctions for its actions in eastern Ukraine,<br />because many Italian companies have significant business interests there.<br />He likened the accusations against the Assad government — made by Britain, France and other allies, along with the Trump administration — to the flawed intelligence<br />that President George W. Bush’s administration cited in 2003 to justify the invasion of Iraq.
