The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin does not plan on meeting with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson when he visits Moscow on Wednesday.
“We have not announced any such meetings and right now there is no meeting with Tillerson in the president’s diary,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a Monday conference call, according to Reuters.
The decision to not receive Tillerson could raise tensions between the U.S. and Russia following the American airstike on Syria. The Trump administration launched a missile strike last week in response to a chemical attack officials attributed to Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces.
Russia has been a staunch backer of Assad during the country's civil war, and Peskov said Monday that it would not abandon that support.
"Returning to pseudo-attempts to resolve the crisis by repeating mantras that Assad must step down cannot help sort things out,” Peskov said.
According to media reports, Tillerson could use his Russia trip to push the Kremlin to back away from Assad.
Tillerson is still expected to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, his direct counterpart, during his stop in Moscow, according to Reuters.
Peskov did not specify why Putin would not meet Tillerson during his first journey to Russia as secretary of State.