As President Trump began a six-day trip to Europe, due to culminate Monday in a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Putin was having some meetings of his own.
In Moscow on Wednesday, he hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a frequent visitor, who said he wanted to talk to the Russian leader “without intermediaries.” Hours later, Putin sat down with Ali Akbar Velayati, the foreign policy adviser to Iran’s supreme leader.
The main subject of the meetings was Syria, also a top item on Trump’s agenda.
“Of course I’m going to bring that up” with Putin, Trump said Friday during a stop in Britain. “I’m not going in with high expectations,” he said, “but we may come out with some surprising things.”