PALM BEACH, Fla. - Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says he sees no reason for retaliation from Russia for U.S. missile strikes on a Syrian air base.

Russia maintains a close political and military alliance with the Assad government. The Russian government has been implicated in many of the attacks against Syrians opposed to Assad's rule - something Moscow adamantly denies.

In an interview to air Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation," Tillerson says Russians were not targeted by the strikes.

America's top diplomat also says that the top U.S. priority in the region hasn't changed and remains the defeat of Islamic State militants.

Tillerson says the Islamic State group is a threat not just to the U.S. but to stability in the region. He says that once the militant group is eliminated, the U.S. can turn to stabilizing Syria.