“He said: ‘I know some guys played a trick on you on the phone, but don’t get offended”. After Crimea reunited with Russian Federation, the West has groundlessly blamed Russian Federation for “annexation” of the region and imposed several rounds of sanctions against Moscow.
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Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters: “Of course, the primary topic will be Syria”.
“Putin said he knows what a popular performer Elton John is and if their schedules match in the future, he is ready to meet and discuss any questions that interest him”, Peskov said.
This would mark the first time that United States and Iranian officials formally discuss the Syrian crisis; much of their previous engagements have centered on Tehran’s nuclear program.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Friday that his remarks that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad might be part of a transition process in Syria did not mean a change in his stance on Syria, insisting that a long-term solution involving Assad is not possible.
The singer previously criticized Putin’s “ridiculous” record on gay rights and denounced a 2013 Russian law criminalizing the spreading of gay “propaganda” among minors, NBC News reports.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a three-hour interview with the group’s al-Manar TV that increased Russian support for Assad included highly advanced weapons systems, warplanes and helicopters.
Obama will also press Putin to live up to commitments Russian Federation made in February to pull its military out of Ukraine by the end of the year, Wallander said.
The United States also hopes to advance political talks on Syria at other General Assembly meetings, Sheba Crocker, assistant secretary for worldwide organization affairs, told a State Department briefing.
Having been fooled by two Russian pranksters last week, Elton John allegedly really has been called up by Vladimir Putin.
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Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Thursday that Russia’s expanding military buildup in Syria could “pour gasoline on the [Islamic State] phenomenon”, because Moscow is bent on backing the embattled Syrian president – one of the extremist group’s top enemies. Western and Arab leaders have shied away from cooperating with Assad in the fight against the Islamic State to avoid being seen as legitimising his rule.
