MOSCOW — Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson met with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia for nearly two hours Wednesday,
but the two men appeared unable to agree on the facts involving the deadly chemical weapons assault on Syrian civilians or Russian interference in the American election — much less move toward an improvement in basic relations.
Asked about President Trump’s description of Mr. Assad as an “animal,” Mr. Tillerson said
that characterization “is one that Assad has brought upon himself.”
Mr. Tillerson said Russian interference in the presidential election was a settled fact.
Both he and Mr. Lavrov said a range of issues were discussed — most notably the crises in Syria, North Korea and Ukraine — and
that both sides had agreed to establish a working group to examine, as Mr. Lavrov said, “the irritants” in relations between the United States and Russia.
The White House released a declassified four-page report
that details United States intelligence on the chemical weapons attack, asserting that the Syrian and Russian governments have sought to confuse the world community about the assault through disinformation and “false narratives.”
But Mr. Putin and his acolytes in the Russian government see the situation very differently.
Instead, the chemical attack in Syria — and the investigations into how
and how significantly Mr. Putin interfered in the United States presidential election — have overshadowed what Mr. Tillerson has insisted remains the No.
Russia said earlier this week that Mr. Putin would not meet with Mr. Tillerson,
but on Wednesday the Russian leader’s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, held out the possibility of a meeting later in the day.