Iran could be the Kremlin’s key to repairing relations with the US
Intense negotiations with the US to ensure Trump can claim his summit with Putin as a triumph, are accompanied by talks with Iran on its role in Syria, sources say
Moscow — Kremlin officials are in intense negotiations with their counterparts in Washington to strike at least one deal they hope will let President Donald Trump tout his summit with Vladimir Putin as a triumph that justifies steps to repair relations. At the top of the list for the July 16 meeting in Helsinki, Finland, is Iran’s role in Syria, an issue that Moscow is simultaneously negotiating with Tehran, a senior Russian official said on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to comment on the record. Putin has agreed in principle to US and Israeli demands that Iranian-backed forces in southern Syria be kept away from Israel’s border, replaced with troops loyal to the government in Damascus, two Kremlin advisers said. After studying Trump’s meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, during which he announced a surprise halt to US military exercises with South Korea, Putin decided he needs to negotiate with the billionaire personally, the senior official said, wit...
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