Bolton: The Issue of Iran's Withdrawal from Syria Will Be Discussed in the Trump-Putin Meeting

John Bolton, the National Security Advisor to the U.S. President, stated in an interview with CBS that the topic of Iran's withdrawal from Syria will likely be discussed during the meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, the Presidents of the United States and Russia. According to the White House, the leaders of the U.S. and Russia are scheduled to meet on July 16 in Helsinki, Finland. Bolton, who recently traveled to Moscow to prepare for this meeting, told CBS on July 1 that the U.S. President will address the assessment of cooperation, including the issue of the withdrawal of Iranian forces from Syria, during his bilateral meeting with Putin. The U.S. National Security Advisor described the potential agreement between the two leaders on this matter as 'a significant step forward' and stated that 'an agreement with Russia is entirely possible.' The U.S. and Arab countries in the Middle East have repeatedly emphasized that Iran has a 'destabilizing role in the region,' including Syria. In recent months, both Israel and the U.S. have stressed the need for Iranian military forces to leave Syria, and Russian officials have also stated that foreign forces in Syria, including Iranian forces and Hezbollah, must leave the country. Bolton also responded to the question of whether Bashar al-Assad should be considered 'the victor of the Syrian war,' saying that in his view, Assad is not currently a strategic issue; rather, the strategic issue is Iran: 'not just the continuation of its nuclear program, but its extensive support for international terrorism and its proxies in the Middle East.' The Trump National Security Advisor pointed out that Russia has always stated it is ready to cooperate with the U.S. on 'counter-terrorism' and emphasized that Moscow should cooperate on the issue of countering Iran. Iran has always denied the accusation of 'supporting terrorism,' and in response, several officials of the Islamic Republic, including the Foreign Ministry spokesman, have described U.S. actions as 'causing instability in the region.' However, Donald Trump has stated at least twice in recent weeks that the U.S. exit from the JCPOA has led to a change in the behavior of Iranian officials in the region. Bolton also mentioned in his CBS interview that the U.S. decision to withdraw from the JCPOA and reimpose sanctions 'has had a significant impact on the decisions of Iranian officials; not only regarding the nuclear issue but also in their efforts to increase influence in the region.' Russian officials have not yet commented on the potential topics that will be raised in the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.