Rex Tillerson said that once the threat of the Islamic state “has been reduced or eliminated,” the U.S. can focus on stabilizing Syria. | Getty Tillerson: Defeating ISIS is 'first priority' in Syria

The United States' first priority before trying to stabilize Syria is defeating the Islamic State, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Saturday.

In a video clip released by CBS' "Face the Nation," Tillerson told host John Dickerson that defeating the terrorist group minimizes a threat not only to the United States but also to regional stability.


"It's important that we keep our priorities straight. And we believe that the first priority is the defeat of ISIS," Tillerson said in the clip. "That by defeating ISIS and removing their caliphate from their control, we've now eliminated at least or minimized a particular threat not just to the United States, but to the whole stability in the region."

Tillerson said that once the threat of the Islamic state "has been reduced or eliminated," the U.S. can focus on stabilizing Syria.

"We're hopeful that we can prevent a continuation of the civil war and that we can bring the parties to the table to begin the process of political discussions," the former ExxonMobil CEO said.

The secretary of state added that such discourse would require participation from Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime in addition to its allies. Tillerson singled out Russia, saying the U.S. is hopeful "Russia will choose to play a constructive role in supporting cease-fires through their own Astana [Kazakhstan] talks, but also, ultimately, through Geneva."

"If we can achieve cease-fires in zones of stabilization in Syria, then I believe — we hope we will have the conditions to begin a useful political process," Tillerson said.

During the full interview, aired Sunday, Tillerson said Assad's actions "clearly call into any question of him expecting to have any legitimacy to continue as the leader of Syria."

"I think the issue of how Bashar al-Assad's leadership is sustained or how he departs is something that we will be working with allies and others in the coalition," Tillerson added. "But I think with each of those actions, he really undermines his own legitimacy."

When asked by Dickerson whether he is worried about Russian retaliation after the U.S. military actions, Tillerson indicated he is not.

"I see no reason that there would be retaliation since the Russians were never targeted in this particular strike," he said. "It was a very deliberate, very proportional, and and very targeted strike undertaken in response to the chemical weapons attack. And Russia was never part of the targeting."

The United States military conducted airstrikes Thursday, targeting a regime airbase in Homs, following a chemical attack in Syria earlier in the week.