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Lebanon’s Hariri talks soccer, Syria in Moscow

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri took advantage of the World Cup to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and discuss bilateral cooperation and the situation in Syria.
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Calls for world leaders to boycott the FIFA World Cup in Russia have largely failed despite Human Rights Watch's urging in response to “atrocities by Russian and Syrian forces in Syria” and UK officials' absence over the alleged poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. Not only did the presidents of most former Soviet states come to Moscow for the opening ceremony, but so did leaders from across the non-Western world, including from the Middle East. While Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit — which included talks with President Vladimir Putin over an OPEC-Russia oil deal — could have been officially explained by the crown prince’s support for his native Green Falcons in the opening game against the Russian hosts, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri also took advantage of the soccer celebration to hold talks with both the Russian leader and the future Saudi monarch.

Putin’s meetings with Hariri have been regular and are often held behind closed doors. While serving as Lebanon’s prime minister from 2009-2011, Hariri visited Russia on numerous occasions. In 2016, as an ex-prime minister and leader of the Sunni Future Movement party, Hariri met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to ask Moscow to influence the policies of Iran and Hezbollah in the region. Though Hariri visited in a private capacity, he was received in the Kremlin. Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov later explained that the Russian president “had good relations” with Hariri’s slain father, late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

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