ST. PETERSBURG. May 25 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said he is not of the view that U.S. President Donald Trump has lost by withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program but insisted that direct dialogue between Washington and Tehran is the key to settling the problem.
"As to whether the U.S. president has lost [by pulling out of the JCPOA], I'll argue with the president of France. I don't think so, I don't think President Trump has lost. First, he is delivering on his election promises, and in this sense, he has even kind of won, in terms of domestic policy," Putin said at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Friday.
At the same time, Putin said, "If this deal is completely ruined, it's true that many might lose, and we should do everything we can so that doesn't happen."
"To this end, we need to work, work together with all parties involved in the process, primarily with the United States. I'll disclose a little bit of how this deal was prepared from behind the scenes. Yes, it was mainly a dialogue between the U.S. and Iran, and the rest of the process participants, including Russia, slightly adjusted everything that was going on," Putin said.
"I won't hide that we often did that to safeguard Iran's interests," he said.
"And yet everyone came to some common denominator following quite substantial bilateral negotiations between Iran and the U.S. This means that, despite all the difficulties, the two countries were able to reach an agreement at the time," Putin said.