JERUSALEM, June 24. /TASS/. Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev has met with US National Security Advisor John Bolton in Jerusalem. Before the meeting, Patrushev and Bolton allowed reporters to take a few pictures and then their meeting continued behind the closed doors.
The meeting took place immediately after the talks Patrushev had had with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Tuesday will see trilateral negotiations between Patrushev, Bolton and head of the Israeli National Security Council Meir Ben-Shabbat. According to Patrushev, they will be dedicated to the situation in Syria. He also specifically underlined that the Russian side intends to also communicate the Iranian position on the Syrian settlement to the colleagues from Israel and the United States, as it is Iran that greatly contributed to the fight against terrorism in Syria. Patrushev made this statement amid sharp deterioration of Washington and Tehran’s relations, which many politicians brand as the verge of war.
Speaking of the agenda of the meeting and Moscow’s expectations, Russian President’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Patrushev, Bolton and Ben-Shabbat can touch upon the Middle Eastern situation as a whole, as well as any other issues they will deem necessary to discuss. According to him, the Kremlin attaches great importance to this meeting.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had initiated these trilateral talks, lauded the upcoming meeting as unprecedented and historical.
Bolton, who met with Netanyahu on Sunday, revealed that he was looking forward to the talks with Patrushev to discuss issues of regional security. Certain views of Washington on the situation in the region amid the current background Bolton already voiced during his talks with Netanyahu. The Israeli Kan radio station reported that he had particularly expressed confidence that Iran was looking to acquire nuclear weapons and was not looking for peace.
He also recalled the words of US President Donald Trump that the US army was ready for deployment. In turn, Netanyahu pointed out that Tehran’s aggressive policy aggravated immediately after the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program had been signed and the anti-Iranian sanctions had been lifted.