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Can Russia, the US find new basis for cooperation in Syria?

A US-Russian quid pro quo in Syria may still be possible if the parties get down to the nitty-gritty of their respective interests in the country.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin (3rd L), Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L), U.S. President Donald Trump (3rd R) and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R) attend a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan June 28, 2019. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS  ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1B7825C230
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Recent contacts between the leaderships of Russia and the United States at the G-20 summit in Osaka and the tripartite Israel-Russia-United States national security meeting in Jerusalem were followed by dynamic “diplomatic traffic” in Damascus.

Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi arrived in Syria July 7; UN envoy Geir Pedersen paid a two-day visit to Damascus July 9-10; Vladimir Putin’s special envoy to Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, arrived July 12; and foreign affairs aide to the chair of Iran's parliament, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, met with President Bashar al-Assad July 16. All discussed the fate of Syria’s constitutional reforms and the country’s economic reconstruction.

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