US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to press for a ceasefire to halt the war in Syria.
The two spoke by telephone for the first time since the US launched air strikes against Syria nearly a month ago, straining relations.
Statements coming from both the White House and Kremlin suggested that the discussion was a productive one. The two leaders also discussed about North Korea and the possibility and timing of a face to face meeting.
It’ll be recalled that Mr Trump ordered cruise missile strikes on a Syrian government airbase following the deaths of more than 80 people in a suspected chemical weapons attack on the Syrian rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun on 4 April.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has insisted that the incident was fabricated, while Russia, Mr Assad’s main foreign backer, said at the time that it was caused by an air strike hitting a rebel depot containing chemical weapons.
However in a statement on Tuesday, Mr Putin called for a full investigation into the incident and condemned “any use of chemical weapons”.
A White House statement said: “President Trump and President Putin agreed that the suffering in Syria has gone on for far too long and that all parties must do all they can to end the violence.
“The conversation was a very good one, and included the discussion of safe, or de-escalation, zones to achieve lasting peace for humanitarian and many other reasons”.
Since news of the chat between the two leaders broke, the US media has been awash with condemnation and criticisms of President Trump for speaking with the “enemy.” The old political talk of Putin being a devilish, human rights violating, terrorist backing dictator is once again making the rounds on the US airwaves.
All sorts of paid talking heads have been popping up and taking swipes at the president, and the almost moribund story of Russia’s meddling in the last US presidential election seems to be waking up once more.
Adrienne Watson, the deputy communications director of the Democratic National Committee, fired the first shot when she said: “Trump’s bromance with Putin appears to be back on track. Instead of sending Putin a tough message on backing Assad’s brutal regime, Trump appears to be opting for a strategy of appeasement.”
Even losing presidential candidate of the Democratic party, Hillary Clinton, was unearthed via an interview where she went back to flogging the Russia election meddling dead horse to add to the shameless effort to whip up anti Russia sentiments once more.
Also, notable war mongering US senators John McCain of Arizona and Lindsay Graham of South Carolina have released a joint statement stating that “Now is not the time to send a signal to Russia that all is forgotten or forgiven.” while urging their colleagues to enforce comprehensive sanctions on Russia in response to its unproven involvement in the US presidential election.
So, what exactly is wrong with the US having a good relationship with Russia? Why can’t the US and Russia be friends instead of foes? Why can’t these two powerful countries be allies instead of adversaries? What is wrong with the leaders of both countries coming together to find ways to avoid conflict between the two countries? Why are people in our government always looking to keep Russia an enemy of the United States?
Many Americans are starting to believe that it’s a ploy to keep America fighting perpetual wars and enriching the so called war industrial complex. The war industrial complex comprises of weapons manufacturers who sell their weapons to the nation, and the oil and banking industries which expand their reach when they go in to corner the oil and banking markets in the destroyed countries.
Peace with Russia will mean having to share the booty with someone and the greedy American corporations want the whole thing for themselves.
