G7 Powers Seek Broad Support to Isolate Syria's Assad

World » EU | April 11, 2017, Tuesday // 14:18
Bulgaria: G7 Powers Seek Broad Support to Isolate Syria's Assad

The Group of Seven major global powers were joined by Middle Eastern allies on Tuesday in a push to isolate Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, hours before the U.S. secretary of state flies to Moscow, Assad's top backer, Reuters reported.

G7 foreign ministers sat down early on Tuesday with their counterparts from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Qatar - all of whom oppose Assad's rule - to discuss the six-year-old civil war in Syria.

Pressure is building on Russian President Vladimir Putin to break ties with Assad, whose forces stand accused of launching a nerve gas attack on a rebel-held town last week that killed 87 people including 31 children.

On Monday, British Prime Minister Theresa May spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump, with both agreeing that there was "a window of opportunity" to persuade Russia to break ties with Assad, May's office said.

Also on Monday, Britain and Canada said sanctions could be tightened on Moscow if it continued to back Assad. Later in the day, Trump spoke by phone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel about the U.S. strike on a Syrian airbase last week - launched in retaliation for the alleged chemical weapons attack - and thanked her for her support.

"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, at least to the point that they are ready to participate in finding a political solution," German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Monday.

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Tags: G7 countries, bashar assad, Syria, Vladimir Putin

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