Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov says it is especially important that President Trump and Vladimir Putin have the meeting Trump suggested in his congratulatory call to Putin in March now that Trump has withdrawn from the Iran nuclear deal.
“A summit meeting, of course, could seriously help to limit its negative consequences and give diplomacy another chance” even though Trump’s move “won’t be reconsidered,” ... Ryabkov told Bloomberg News on Wednesday.
Ryabkov has held his position since 2008 and told Interfax news agency after the US election that Russian officials did have contact with members of the Trump campaign, adding “[o]bviously, we know most of the people from his entourage.”
Ryabkov, who will travel to Tehran Thursday for meetings with top Iranian officials, represented Russia at the six-party talks with the Islamic Republic.
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Russia negotiated the nuclear framework with Iran together with France, Germany, the U.K., the U.S. and China. The European Union, Russia and China have all said they remain committed to the agreement.
A U.S.-Russia summit would provide a “signal” to the entire government apparatus in both countries about the readiness for dialogue, Ryabkov said.
“It’s necessary from all points of view, especially since the presidents in their phone conversation underlined the need to resolve accumulated problems in the sphere of strategic stability,” he said.
Russia Urges Trump-Putin Summit After U.S. Rebuff of Iran Deal (Bloomberg Politics)