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Russia Considers Saudi Angle in Syria

The visit of Bandar bin Sultan, director-general of Saudi Arabia's intelligence agency, to Moscow last month was all about Syria.
Prince Bandar bin Sultan (R), secretary-general of Saudi Arabia's National Security Council, and Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin enter a hall for a signing ceremony in Moscow July 14, 2008. Picture taken July 14, 2008.  RUSSIA/RIA Novosti/Alexei Druzhinin/Pool  (RUSSIA) - RTX7XR3

The inauguration of new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is accompanied by a surge of expectations. After eight provocative years of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency, Rouhani has an edge — in the beginning, at least, he will be treated favorably.

In Russia, the inauguration was accompanied by rumors that President Vladimir Putin would visit Iran as early as a week after the inauguration. Analysts discussed in detail why and for what purpose the Russian leader would visit the Iranian president and to what extent it would be a provocation of the West. But then, the rumors were officially denied. The first meeting will actually take place in September at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Kyrgyzstan. The influential Kommersant newspaper, which was the first to report about the expected visit, continues to insist that the rumored visit had been planned, but the involved parties failed to agree on an itinerary. Putin intended to meet with his counterpart during a planned flash-trip through the Caspian states, without visiting Tehran, but the Iranian side insisted on a full-scale visit.

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