John Bolton: Withdrawal of Iranian Forces from Syria is a Priority for the U.S.

John Bolton, the U.S. National Security Advisor, emphasized on Thursday, August 23, during a meeting with his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev, that the withdrawal of all Iranian forces from Syria is a priority for Washington. After this meeting, Mr. Bolton told the Associated Press that Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, had also expressed in a previous meeting that Russia is inclined to see Iranian forces return to their country. However, according to him, Putin stated that Moscow is not sure it can accomplish this alone. The American official then mentioned, without going into details, that he discussed the manner of the Iranian forces' withdrawal from Syria with Patrushev. Iran and Russia are the two main supporters of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, which tipped the balance in favor of his government during the country's civil war. John Bolton is a staunch opponent of Iranian interventions in the region and claims that Tehran supports terrorism. He was also an advocate for the U.S. withdrawal from the global powers' nuclear agreement with Iran. In his meeting with Nikolai Patrushev, Bolton also addressed the issue of Russian interference in U.S. elections, stating that the Russian representative showed no reaction to this matter. Mr. Bolton expressed his desire for Moscow to understand the strong position the U.S. has against this Russian action and that it will not allow any interference in its elections. He added, 'I clearly stated that we will not tolerate your interference in this year's elections and are prepared to take necessary actions to prevent it.' The U.S. is set to witness congressional elections in November. According to John Bolton, the focus of the U.S. is to ensure that the events of the two-year-old presidential election do not repeat, and if Russia does not interfere in the U.S. elections, new sanctions will not be imposed against it. The issue of Russian interference in the previous presidential election has led to extensive investigations in the U.S., with Robert Mueller, the head of this case, examining the possible role of some members of Donald Trump's campaign in this matter.