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Putin’s Gulf security plan depends on Trump

The Russian president plans to roll out his regional initiative to calm Gulf tensions next month — but are the United States and the EU ready to let Putin step up in the Gulf?
The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson conducts flight operations while underway in the Arabian Gulf in this U.S. Navy handout photo dated April 4, 2011. He may have been America's enemy number one, but after U.S. forces killed him in Pakistan, Osama bin Laden was afforded Islamic religious rites by the U.S. military as part of his surprise at-sea burial on Monday. The body was transported to the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, which brought him to his final resting place somewhere in the north

Russian President Vladimir Putin will announce his plan for Gulf security next month. It’s unclear how the Gulf countries will respond to his initiative, and whether the Trump administration and the EU will have any time for it. The proposal’s ambition is stark, and it seems at this point like a hard, if not impossible sell to many of the stakeholders — especially the United States. In trying to make the pitch, Putin may have an eye on American politics, hoping that US President Donald Trump might welcome a diplomatic track, even a long shot, which helps keeps the Gulf quiet during his 2020 reelection campaign.

Lavrov: Russian initiative a ‘very, very promising thing’

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