MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. Russia is the only country capable of signing "a grand bargain" to reconcile the warring parties in the Middle East, Scott Ritter, a former US Marine Corps intelligence analyst and former United Nations arms inspector in Iraq, told TASS in an interview.

"Russia has diplomatic connectivity. Who can Russia talk to? The United States. [Russian President] Vladimir Putin and [US President] Donald Trump talk to each other. Russia talks to Israel. Russia is an ally of Iran. Russia has good relations with the Gulf Arab states. These are all sides of the conflict. Russia is the one nation that can talk to all of them. So if you want an elegant solution, it's Russia coming in and striking a grand bargain," he said.

In his opinion, Trump could help end the conflict in Ukraine on terms acceptable to Russia in return for help with Iran. "We don’t need to go into details of what the grand bargain would look like. But we have to acknowledge that there is the potential of a grand bargain, and Russia is the country that can deliver it," he added.

On February 28, the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran, hitting major cities, including Tehran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps retaliated with a sweeping attack on Israel. US military installations in Bahrain, Jordan, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were also pummeled. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and some other key Iranian figures were killed.