Merkel and Trump urged Putin to influence Assad
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump had a telephone call conversation, during which they discussed the situation in Syria,reported the representative of the German government Steffen Seibert.
It is noted that Germany and the United States share a common concern in connection with the humanitarian crisis in the Idlib region, as well as the movement of government forces on the holdings of Islamist and jihadist groups in this province.
Merkel and Trump "called on Russia to exert a restraining influence” on the Syrian regime and prevent further escalation of the conflict. Among other things, the situation in eastern Ukraine was discussed.
Earlier, the US warned Russia about a possible attack on the forces of the Syrian President Bashar Assad and a "powerful military operation" if the Syrian leader uses chemical weapons attempting to return Idlib to his control.
On April 14, the United States, together with Great Britain and France, strike against Syria. This was a response to a chemical attack in the city of the Duma. Responsibility for this attack was attributed to the government troops of Bashar Assad.
Recently, it became known that the US is prepared to strike at Syria if Assad’s forces use chemical weapons in order to regain control of one of the regions of the country. John Bolton, an adviser to the US President on matters of National Security stated this during a meeting with Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev.