AKIPRESS.COM - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson -- a one-time recipient of the Russian Order of Friendship from Russian President Vladimir Putin whose appointment as top US diplomat was seen as a nod to the Trump administration's pro-Russian inclinations -- arrived Tuesday in Moscow amid seething tensions over the ongoing conflict in Syria, CNN reports.

The trip is the most sensitive to date for Tillerson. The secretary of state is seeking to leverage both international condemnation over the Syrian regime's alleged use of Sarin gas against civilians and President Donald Trump's recent display of American military might to weaken Russia's support for President Bashar al-Assad.

Tillerson's predecessor John Kerry held months of talks with Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, in an fruitless effort to find agreement on a ceasefire between the regime and the Syrian opposition, which could lead to a political process. Kerry and his aides often lamented President Barack Obama's stated unwillingness to use military action weakened his hand in those talks.