Russia must choose between partnering with the United States or the Iranian axis, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said at a meeting of the G7 nations in Italy on Tuesday. “We want to relieve the suffering of the Syrian people. Russia can be a part of that future and play an important role,” Tillerson explained. “Or Russia can maintain its alliance with this group [Iran, Assad, and Hezbollah], which we believe is not going to serve Russia’s interests longer term.”

The secretary of state blasted Moscow for failing to stop Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from attacking his own people with chemical weapons, claiming it was a result of either Russian incompetence or unwillingness.  Either way, he said, the distinction “doesn’t much matter to the dead.” Due to a 2013 agreement, the Syrian regime was supposed to have gotten rid of all of its chemical weapons; Russia was the guarantor of that agreement.

“It is clear to all of us that the reign of the Assad family is coming to an end,” Tillerson added, although he did not state explicitly how this would happen. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault was in agreement: “no future in Syria is possible with Bashar Assad,” he said. German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel added, “I think we have to show a united position and that in these negotiations we should do all we can to get Russia out of Assad’s corner.”

After the G7 meeting, Tillerson took off for Moscow, where he is scheduled to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday and plans to present a united G7 position on Russian involvement in Syria.

On Monday, U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis announced that the American strike on the Syrian Shayrat airbase last week took out one-fifth of Assad’s air force. “The Syrian government has lost the ability to refuel or rearm aircraft at Shayrat airfield and at this point, use of the runway is of idle military interest,” Mattis said. “The Syrian government would be ill-advised ever again to use chemical weapons.”

[Photo: CSIS / Flickr]