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<\/a>Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes US State Secretary Mike Pompeo, left, during their meeting, in Sochi, Russia. Photo: AFP \/ Sergey Guneev \/ Sputnik<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n
What Putin and Pompeo did not talk about<\/h1>\nRussia is uneasy over the destabilization of Tehran, and on other hotspots the powers\u2019 positions are clear<\/h3>\n
By PEPE ESCOBAR
\nAsia Times<\/p>\n
Even veiled by thick layers of diplomatic fog, the overlapping meetings in Sochi between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and President Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov still offer tantalizing geopolitical nuggets.<\/p>\n
Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov did his best to smooth the utterly intractable, admitting there was \u201cno breakthrough yet\u201d during the talks but at least the US \u201cdemonstrated a constructive approach.\u201d<\/p>\n
Putin told Pompeo that after his 90-minute phone call with Trump, initiated by the White House, and described by Ushakov as \u201cvery good,\u201d the Russian president \u201cgot the impression that the [US] president was inclined to re-establish Russian-American relations and contacts to resolve together the issues that are of mutual interest to us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n That would imply a Russiagate closure. <\/span>Putin told Pompeo, in no uncertain terms, that Moscow never interfered in the US elections, and that the Mueller report proved that there was no connection between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n This adds to the fact Russiagate has been consistently debunked<\/span><\/a> <\/span>by the best independent American investigators such as the VIPS group. <\/span><\/p>\n Let\u2019s briefly review what became public of the discussions on multiple (hot and cold) conflict fronts \u2013 Venezuela, North Korea, Afghanistan, Iran.<\/span><\/p>\n Venezuela \u2013 Ushakov reiterated the Kremlin\u2019s position: \u201cAny steps that may provoke a civil war in the country are inadmissible.\u201d The future of President Maduro was apparently not part of the discussion.<\/span><\/p>\n That brings to mind the recent Arctic Council summit. Both Lavrov and Pompeo were there. Here\u2019s a significant exchange:<\/span><\/p>\n Lavrov: I believe you don\u2019t represent the South American region, do you?<\/span><\/p>\n Pompeo: We represent the entire hemisphere.<\/span><\/p>\n Lavrov: Oh, the hemisphere. Then what\u2019s the US doing in the Eastern Hemisphere, in Ukraine, for instance?<\/span><\/p>\n There was no response from Pompeo.<\/span><\/p>\n North Korea \u2013 Even acknowledging that the Trump administration is \u201cgenerally ready to continue working [with Pyongyang] despite the stalemate at the last meeting, Ushakov again reiterated the Kremlin\u2019s position: Pyongyang will not give in to \u201cany type of pressure,\u201d and North Korea wants \u201ca respectful approach\u201d and international security guarantees.<\/p>\n Afghanistan \u2013 Ushakov noted Moscow is very much aware that the Taliban are getting stronger. So the only way out is to find a \u201cbalance of power.\u201d There was a crucial trilateral in Moscow on April 25 featuring Russia, China and the US, where they all called on the Taliban to start talking with Kabul as soon as possible.<\/span><\/p>\n Iran \u2013 Ushakov said the JCPOA, or Iran nuclear deal, was \u201cbriefly discussed.\u201d.He would only say the discussion was \u201cinteresting.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Talk about a larger than life euphemism. Moscow is extremely uneasy over the possibility of a destabilization of Iran that allows a free transit of jihadis from the Caspian to the Caucasus.<\/span><\/p>\n Which brings us to the heart of the matter. Diplomatic sources \u2013 from Russia and Iran \u2013 confirm, off the record, there have been secret talks among the three pillars of Eurasian integration \u2013 Russia, China and Iran \u2013 about Chinese and Russian guarantees in the event the Trump administration\u2019s drive to strangle Tehran to death takes an ominous turn.<\/span><\/p>\n This is being discussed at the highest levels in Moscow and Beijing. The bottom line: Russia-China won\u2019t allow Iran to be destroyed.<\/span><\/p>\n But it\u2019s quite understandable that Ushakov wouldn\u2019t let that information slip through a mere press briefing.<\/span><\/p>\n On multiple fronts, what was not disclosed by Ushakov is way more fascinating than what\u2019s now on the record. There\u2019s absolutely no way Russian hypersonic weapons were not also discussed, as well as China\u2019s intermediate-range missiles capable of reaching any US military base encircling or containing China. The real deal was, in fact, not Putin-Pompeo or Pompeo-Lavrov in Sochi. It was actually Lavrov-Wang Yi (the Chinese Foreign Minister), the day before in Moscow.<\/span><\/p>\n A US investment banker doing business in Russia told me: \u201c<\/span>Note how Pompeo ran like mad to Sochi. We are frightened and overstretched.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Diplomats later remarked: \u201cPompeo looked solemn afterwards. Lavrov sounded very diplomatic and calm.\u201d It\u2019s no secret in Moscow\u2019s top diplomatic circles that the Chinese Politburo overruled President Xi Jinping\u2019s effort to find an accommodation to Trump\u2019s tariff offensive. The tension was visible in Pompeo\u2019s demeanor.<\/span><\/p>\n In terms of substance, it\u2019s remarkable how Lavrov and Wang Yi talked about, literally, everything: Syria, Iran, Venezuela, the Caspian, the Caucasus, New Silk Roads (BRI), Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU), Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), missiles, nuclear proliferation.<\/span><\/p>\n Or as Lavrov diplomatically put it: <\/span>\u201cIn general, Russia-China cooperation is one of the key factors in maintaining the international security and stability, establishing a multipolar world order. . . . Our states cooperate closely in various multilateral organizations, including the UN, G20, SCO, BRICS and RIC [Russia, India, China trilateral forum], we are working on aligning the integration potential of the EAEU and the Belt and Road Initiative, with potentially establishing [a] larger Eurasian partnership.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The strategic partnership is in sync on Venezuela, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan \u2013 they want a solution brokered by the SCO. And on North Korea, the message could not have been more forceful.<\/span><\/p>\n After talking to Wang Yi, Lavrov stressed that contacts between Washington and North Korea \u201cproceeded in conformity with the road map that we had drafted together with China, from confidence restoration measures to further direct contacts.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n This is a frank admission that Pyongyang gets top advice from the Russia-China strategic partnership. And there\u2019s more: \u201cWe hope that at a certain point a comprehensive agreement will be achieved on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and on the creation of a system of peace and security in general in Northeast Asia, including concrete firm guarantees of North Korea\u2019s security.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Translation: Russia and China won\u2019t back down on guaranteeing North Korea\u2019s security. Lavrov said: \u201cSuch guarantees will be not easy to provide, but this is an absolutely mandatory part of a future agreement. Russia and China are prepared to work on such guarantees.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The indomitable Maria Zakharova, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman, may have summed it all up<\/span><\/a>. A US-Russia reset may even, eventually, happen. Certainly, it won\u2019t be of the Hillary Clinton kind, especially when current CIA director Gina Haspel is shifting most of the agency\u2019s resources towards Iran and Russia.<\/span><\/p>\n\u2018Interesting\u2019 talk on Iran<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n
Wang Yi and other deals<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\nUS Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, third right, meets Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, center left, in Sochi on 14 May 2019. Photo: AFP \/ Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service \/ Anadolu<\/h6>\nReset, maybe?<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n