Russian Presidential spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, has refuted media reports, which claimed that the withdrawal of pro-Iranian forces from Syria will top the agenda of a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump.
"In this particular case, either Kommersant’s or Bloomberg’s sources failed them. That’s what I can answer," he said when asked to confirm information provided by some sources who said that agreements on the withdrawal of the Iran-backed forces from Syria could be the key issue at the upcoming meeting between the Russian and US leaders, TASS reported on Friday.
The Kremlin spokesman noted though "that the Syrian issue will be a topic for exchanging views." "That’s certainly easy to foretell. At any rate, the Russian side is getting ready, and Putin is prepared to discuss the Syrian issue. However, reports when two countries discuss a third country and make some decisions for it - that’s hardly feasible," Peskov said. "That’s why these reports are not true."
Citing a senior Russian official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment on the record, Bloomberg reported on Thursday that Putin has agreed in principle to US and Israeli demands that Iranian-backed forces in southern Syria be kept away from Israel’s border, replaced with troops loyal to the government in Damascus.
At the top of the list for the July 16 meeting in Helsinki, Finland, is Iran’s role in Syria, an issue that Moscow is simultaneously negotiating with Tehran, Bloomberg report added.
