Nikolai Patrushev is being nominated for the role of Russia's main negotiator with the United States. Can Patrushev be successful at the talks and why him? What worries the Americans today in their relations with Russia?
Russia's Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev held a meeting with US National Security Advisor John Bolton in Geneva on August 23. According to CNN, Bolton called Patrushev to admit that Russia interfered in the US elections of 2016. He promised that he would then sign the outcome document of the meeting. Patrushev did not want to admit that. If he had urged the United States not to interfere in elections in Ukraine and Syria, as well as in other countries, this would have been an excellent response.
Bolton, however, promised that the US would not impose new sanctions, if Russia could promise not to stage new "interventions." It is hard to believe in the likelihood of such a decision, because the US has never been able to prove the Russian intervention. Washington prefers to use this assumption just as a tool of economic warfare to oust Russia's big business from world markets.
Why Patrushev?
Vladimir Vasiliev, chief researcher at the Institute of the USA and Canada, told Pravda.Ru that Patrushev was a negotiator who would rather say "no" than "yes." "Patrushev is not the person, who seeks compromises - he articulates positions and explains that these positions are final. It is also important that Russia and the USA sent their national security assistants for the meeting. This indicates certain parity already," the specialist said in an interview with Pravda.Ru.
"Moscow and Washington, considering the witch hunt in the United States, want to create a confidential communication channel to exchange opinions outside public spaces. Patrushev is the man who can make this happen, and so is Bolton. They are the men who can execute orders without doubts," Vladimir Vasilyev said.
In Geneva, Patrushev and Bolton spoke about Syria, Ukraine, START treaties and medium-range missiles. Bolton said as a result of the talks that Russia and the USA achieved considerable progress in the talks. His interview with Breitbart showed that Syria and Iran remain the main topics of the Russian-American talks today.
Putin, according to the US adviser, does not challenge the legitimacy of Israeli control over the Golan Heights. "Certainly the objective of the United States, of Israel, President Putin said it was Russia's objective is to get Iran - Iranian forces, Iranian militias, Iranian surrogates out of the offensive operations they're in in both Syria and Iraq and frankly, to end Iran's support for Hezbollah," Bolton said ABC News (Bolton is flying to Israel on August 26).
"We told the Americans that it is their troops, but not Iranian ones, that remain on the territory of Syria illegitimately. We told them that they must leave Syria. The Americans understand that Russia wants to talk to them on an equal footing," Vladimir Vasiliev told Pravda.Ru. It is no accident that the USA announced a decision to impose new sanctions on Russia after the Patrushev-Bolton summit.
It is worthy of note that Bolton then flew to Kiev, where he took part in Ukraine's national holiday - Independence Day. Ironically, Ukraine celebrates its Independence Day being totally dependent on the USA.
Meanwhile in the US, Bolton is suspected of having ties with Maria Butina, a 29-year-old activist of Right to Bear Arms non-governmental organisation. Butina is accused of being a Russian agent of influence. In the US, officials from power agencies are usually beyond criticism, but Bolton is an exception, because he is a man from the Trump team.
Vladimir Vasiliev believes that billionaires and big money from Wall Street came to American politics for the first time in many decades. "Trump is the first shot, but others of the ilk may follow soon. These people can break many things, and they already break economic relations, the security system and various agreements. They rock the boat and build the new political ruling class. From this point of view, we need the relations that will remain in the shadow for long," Vladimir Vasiliev told Pravda.Ru.
Lyuba Lulko (Stepushova)
Pravda.Ru
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