Kremlin comments on Kissinger's role in arranging Putin-Trump meeting

Russian Politics & Diplomacy June 30, 2017, 14:09

Henry Kissinger, 94, held the post of the US national security adviser in 1969-1975 and worked as the US Secretary of State in 1973-1977

MOSCOW, June 30. /TASS/. Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger did not try to become a mediator to arrange a meeting between Russian and US Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

"No, he didn’t try, this wasn’t so," Peskov told reporters.

Peskov gave no details about Putin’s meeting with Kissinger on Thursday. "This is an absolutely private meeting," he said, noting that Kissinger is in Moscow to take part in Primakov Readings, a summit of experts, diplomats and politicians in memory of Russian outstanding statesman Evgeny Primakov.

The meeting was held "as a follow-up to the old years-long contacts," Peskov said. "Traditionally, the president and the ex-Secretary of State use these coinciding schedules for holding personal meetings," he said.

Kissinger, 94, held the post of the US national security adviser in 1969-1975 and worked as the US Secretary of State in 1973-1977. He is one of the ideologists of the detente policy in relations between the US and the Soviet Union. Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in concluding the Paris Agreement to end the war and restore peace in Vietnam.

Putin and Kissinger have held more than a dozen meetings. Before Thursday’s talks they met on February 3, 2016.

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