Today The Duran reported on the Lavrov – Tillerson meeting here and here, amidst the backdrop of a James Comey firing, which sent the liberal left and neocon right into hysterical “Russian hacking” conspiracy overdrive.
As the visit of Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov to Washington proceeds, it’s become clear that the American mainstream media is mostly unconcerned with any of the foreign policy implications of his visit.
An improvement in US-Russian relations, which has consistently been advocated by US President Donald Trump since the beginning of his campaign (and long before) would be an achievement which would increase peace and stability around the world.
Recently I wrote for The Duran an article that suggested that some sort of deal or understanding between the Kremlin and Trump administration had either been reached in relation to the conflict in Syria or was in the process of being reached.
This followed 2 weeks of intense diplomatic contacts between the Kremlin and the Trump administration, which went well beyond the level of such contacts achieved at any previous time since Donald Trump’s inauguration.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, delivering his first address to the staff of the State Department, has set out a vision of US foreign policy which if different would be radically different from anything seen over the last few decades.
The US State Department has confirmed that Sergey Lavrov and Rex Tillerson will hold meetings in Washington D.C. between the 9th and 11th of May.
Talks will cover a wide range of issues but primarily will involve Syria.
This comes after US Defence Secretary James ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis said that, “the devil is in the details”, when asked about his opinion on the safe zones established last week by the Astana Group which includes Russia, Iran and Turkey.
The Syrian government and the United Nations both support the Memorandum.
Russia’s Foreign Ministery Sergey Lavrov has suggested that Donald Trump’s private communications with Russia are far warmer than many of the public statements made by Trump officials.
Sergey Lavrov who is well known not only for his no-nonsense approach to diplomacy but also for his fun sense of humour stated,
Alongside the agreement in Astana between Russia, Turkey and Iran to set up ‘de-escalation areas’ in Syria, it is clear that diplomatic contacts between the US and Russia about Syria have intensified significantly in recent days, with the White House and the Kremlin engaging in the first positive interactions they have had since Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have held a telephone conversation in which the leaders of two of the three world super-powers discussed pressing matters of war and peace.
The conversations were serious in tone with both leaders pledging to maintain close contact with the other. Putin and Trump also said that the respective foreign ministers of each country, Sergey Lavrov and Rex Tillson will be in close contact with each other in order to bolster the fragile Syrian ceasefire.
T.S. Eliot said, “April is the cruellest month”. For those who wanted a Trump administration that was anti-interventionist, diplomatic and focused mainly on domestic issues, April was cruel indeed. But now that May has begun, there are several signs which are impossible to ignore, suggesting that Trump may be slowly getting back to his pre-April self.
1. Middle East versus Domestic Expenditure
A day prior to the resumption of the Astana Peace Talks on Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have held a phone call to discuss each side’s position on Syria and other pressing matters. America has no official role in Astana, but will be keenly interested in the results of this round of discussions.
