U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, has arrived in Moscow following the G7 foreign ministers' meeting.
That meeting included Middle East nations that have opposed the rule of Syrian President Bashar Assad, which has received renewed international criticism after recent chemical attacks allegedly conducted by his regime. Russia, for its part, has also come under fire for its open support of Assad's regime.
Tillerson is to meet Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in a bid to pressure Moscow on its involvement with Syria. However, his chances of doing so are "zero to nada," according to Marc Ginsberg, who formerly served as White House deputy senior advisor for Middle East policy.
"[The Russians] have heard all these arguments before from the Americans. And they don't think that Mr. Tillerson has much behind him to show that he can compel the Russians to do anything," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Wednesday.
Ginsberg said he hopes for higher odds of success, and that Russia will start playing a "more constructive role" to transition away from the Assad regime.
"Even though Assad ultimately may be expendable," Ginsberg said, "Russia has an enormous strategic stake in the Assad regime." He explained that Syria is Russia's doorway to the Middle East and holds some of its major military bases.