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Trump-Putin meeting in Helsinki might solve Syrian crisis

Russia and the United States have very different approaches and goals in the Middle East, but they could lead to a solution in Syria.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin talk during the family photo session at the APEC Summit in Danang, Vietnam November 11, 2017. REUTERS/Jorge Silva - RC1B1EDB0E40

Modern politics is remarkable. Until recently the situation in the Middle East, and Syria in particular, seemed to have come to the deadest of ends, to the blindest of alleys when assessed in terms of political results. It was a tangle of incompatible interests involving a legion of different actors and a hopeless proxy war between Moscow and Washington.

Now, here comes a sudden U-turn. If we can trust various leaks ahead of the long-awaited summit between the two leaders, Syria is the only matter US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin can be expected to agree on July 16 in Helsinki. Why is this the case?

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