Middle East

Bolton: Putin shares our desire to get Iranian troops out of Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin shares our desire for the withdrawal of Iranian troops from Syria, US national security adviser John Bolton said on Thursday.

Bolton said at a press conference in Geneva after meeting with his Russian counterpart that the United States is committed to the date of the application of new sanctions on Iran.

Bolton said he discussed with Nikolai Patrushev the subject of arms control, noting that he discussed with the Russians the issue of Iran and the sanctions imposed on them and the reason.

On Iran, Bolton said that following the US decision to withdraw from a 2015 international deal aimed at curbing Tehrans nuclear program, the Trump administrations objective was to “put maximum pressure on the regime” by making sanctions more extensive and effective.

Commenting on Irans role in Syria's long-running conflict, Bolton said: "Our objective is that all Iranian forces return to Iran… And we talked about a variety of ways in which it might be accomplished through a series of steps.”

“I and my Russian counterpart have made progress on the topics we discussed.”

Bolton, said on Thursday he had warned Moscow against meddling in the US mid-term elections in November during talks with the head of Russias National Security Council.

Bolton added after talks in Geneva with Nikolai Patrushev that the issue of meddling in elections had prevented the two sides from issuing a joint final statement.

“I made it clear we wouldn't tolerate (election) meddling in 2018 and we were prepared to take necessary steps to prevent it from happening," Bolton told a news conference after more than five hours of talks with Patrushev in Geneva.

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Last Update: Friday, 24 August 2018 KSA 02:00 – GMT 23:00

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