Future of the Syrian president on the agenda of US secretary of state's visit to Moscow.

US President Donald Trump's inauguration was expected to usher in a new era of close ties with Russia.

The past week, however, shows that is not happening. Harsh words have been traded over the Syrian conflict.

It started with a suspected chemical attack in Idlib last week, blamed on the Russian-backed Syrian government, followed by a US strike on a Syrian airbase.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's visit to Moscow has done little to ease tensions.

Tillerson met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov to discuss the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The US wants Assad gone, but Russia wants to know what America's real intentions are, and what the West is planning for a Syria without Assad.

Presenter: Sohail Rahman

Guests:

Alexander Nekrassov - Russian political analyst and former Kremlin adviser

Wael Alzayat - former senior Syria adviser to Samantha Power, the US ambassador to the UN under President Barack Obama



Ian Black - visiting senior fellow at the Middle East Centre at the London School of Economics

Source: Al Jazeera News