Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reportedly abandoned his his press pool for an unscheduled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.



According to several reporters covering Tillerson's Russia visit, the top U.S. diplomat did not bring his press pool to the Kremlin while meeting with Putin on Wednesday.

If you're wondering why the US press doesn't have pictures of Secretary Tillerson at the Kremlin, that's because he ditched his press pool — margaret brennan (@margbrennan) April 12, 2017

The US Sec of State did NOT bring his press pool to the Kremlin for his meeting with the Russian president. — Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) April 12, 2017

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Moscow on Monday had said that Tillerson would not be meeting with the Russian president during his first official visit to the country.

The meeting comes amid growing tensions between U.S. and Russia over the ongoing conflict in Syria.

Russia condemned the U.S. missile strikes against a Syrian airfield last Thursday, accusing Washington of violating international law.

The U.S., however, has urged Russia to stop supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad, who is believed to be behind the chemical weapons attack against Syrian civilians last week.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.