--- description: A Russian ministry spokeswoman questioned what the U.S.'s strategy on Syria was after President Trump criticised a suspected chemical attack title: Russia to Trump: Put Up or Shut Up on Syria and Bashar Assad image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6cfaf4b4d90af3f/6988c1a886f68e37236e423c/gettyimages-664935792.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Syria](/tag/syria/) ## Syria Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Russia to President Trump: Put Up or Shut Up on Syria and Bashar Assad by [Zamira Rahim](/author/zamira-rahim/) ## Zamira Rahim Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 6, 2017 11:31 AM CUT  U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, April 5, 2017. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, April 5, 2017.Andrew Harrer—Bloomberg — Getty Images by [Zamira Rahim](/author/zamira-rahim/) ## Zamira Rahim Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 6, 2017 11:31 AM CUT The Russian government has questioned [United States stance ](http://time.com/4725723/donald-trump-barack-obama-rex-tillerson-iran-russia-syria/ "undefined")on Syrian President Bashar Assad, after [President Donald Trump](http://time.com/4710614/donald-trump-fbi-surveillance-house-intelligence-committee/ "undefined") criticized a reported [chemical weapons attack](http://time.com/4727921/rex-tillerson-bashar-assad-syria-chemical-attack/ "undefined") in Syria’s Idlib province by government forces. The attack has killed at least 86 people, including 26 children, [CNN](http://edition.cnn.com/2017/04/06/middleeast/syria-idlib-chemical-attack/ "undefined") reports. Countries including the U.S., the U.K. and Turkey have linked the attack to Assad’s forces. Russia has repeatedly supported the Assad regime, and did so again in the aftermath of the latest deaths, suggesting the deaths had been caused by a Syrian strike hitting a rebel stockpile of chemical weapons. Trump, whose administration had previously signaled that removing Assad was not a priority, said Wednesday that the attack had [caused him to change his mind](http://time.com/4727349/syria-chemical-weapons-trump-reaction/ "undefined") about the Syrian President. He added that the use of chemical weapons was “heinous” and [“crossed a lot of lines”](http://time.com/4727349/syria-chemical-weapons-trump-reaction/ "undefined"). But Assad had previously been suspected of using chemical weapons, and Trump did not offer any clarity on what a revised U.S. strategy in dealing with the Syria strongman would look like. So Russia posted the question on Thursday: “Russia’s approach to Assad is clear,” Maria Zakharova, a Russian ministry spokeswoman, told CNN. “He is the legal president of an independent state. What is the U.S. approach?” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4728359/russia-donald-trump-syria-bashar-assad/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4728359/russia-donald-trump-syria-bashar-assad/"},"headline":"Russia to President Trump: Put Up or Shut Up on Syria and Bashar Assad","datePublished":"2017-04-06T11:31:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:15:16.062Z","description":"\"Russia's approach to Assad is clear. What is the US approach?\"","url":"https://time.com/4728359/russia-donald-trump-syria-bashar-assad/","keywords":["Syria","trump","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6cfaf4b4d90af3f/6988c1a886f68e37236e423c/gettyimages-664935792.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zamira Rahim","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zamira-rahim/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6cfaf4b4d90af3f/6988c1a886f68e37236e423c/gettyimages-664935792.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Trump Meets With Jordan's King Abdullah II At The White House","caption":"President Trump Meets With Jordan's King Abdullah II At The White House","creditText":"Andrew Harrer—Bloomberg — Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/syria/","name":"Syria"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4728359/russia-donald-trump-syria-bashar-assad/","name":"Russia to President Trump: Put Up or Shut Up on Syria and Bashar Assad"}}]}] ```