RPT: PREVIEW - Russia's Patrushev Starts Talks With US, Israeli Counterparts in Jerusalem Monday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th June, 2019) Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev is set to start a two-day working visit to Israel on Monday, as part of which he will hold trilateral talks with US National Security Advisor John Bolton and Israeli National Security Advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat to discuss the middle East and the Syrian crisis, in particular.
The meeting has already been described by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who floated the idea of holding such talks during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in February, as "unprecedented," "historic" and vital to ensuring "stability in the Middle East during these turbulent times." US Special Representative for Syria Engagement James Jeffrey, in turn, called it an "extraordinary event," "something very important."
The London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, meanwhile, reported earlier in June, citing Western diplomatic sources, that the United States and Israel intended to offer Russia recognition of Syrian President Bashar Assad's legitimacy as well as sanctions relief for Damascus in exchange for Moscow agreeing to restrain Iran's influence in the Arab republic.
Russian Special Presidential Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev told Sputnik on Wednesday that Moscow would not negotiate any separate deal behind the backs of its allies, while Patrushev said that Russia would take Iran's interests into account during the talks and would convey Tehran's position to the US and Israeli counterparts.
President Vladimir Putin has similarly said that Russia trades neither its interests nor allies including Syria.
Russia and Iran, along with Turkey, are guarantors of the ceasefire in Syria. The United States and Israel, in turn, have been consistently accusing Tehran of destabilizing activities in the region and seeking to push it out of the Arab republic, where Iran assists the Assad government in counterterrorism.