Russia-U.S. summit marks beginning of normalization of relations - Zhirinovsky
MOSCOW. July 23 (Interfax) - The meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump marked the beginning of the normalization of relations between the two countries, Russian Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky said.
"The meeting between Putin and Trump was very important. It's the start of the normalization of relations, at least at the level of meetings between the presidents," Zhirinovsky said at a press conference at Interfax's main office on Monday.
The most difficult issue in relations is the Middle East, where the situation is aggravated by ethnic, religious, and economic factors, he said.
"We did a lot of positive things there, but it is difficult to finish it because Turkey is stubborn, they are afraid of the creation of Kurdistan, Iran is creating obstacles, they are afraid they will be isolated and the Shiite parts of Lebanon, Yemen, and Bahrain will be left without Iran's support, and Israel, which dreams of dividing all states," Zhirinovsky said.
The United States will leave Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya in time, and "the states there will begin to be rebuilt according to the Syrian model," he said.
"A lot will depend on the situation in America. If the Republican Party wins the November elections, I think there will be progress there and in Ukraine," Zhirinovsky said.
"In Ukraine, I only see division into half: Novorossia becomes part of Russia, like Crimea, and Lviv, the Ukrainian republic called Galitsia, joins NATO, the EU. The issue will be solved," he said.
Turkey will continue controlling the northern part of Syria, "but only as long as Erdogan is president," Zhirinovsky said. "Eventually, there will be a different government there; the Turks are dreaming of Europization, not the [kind of] Europization they have now," Zhirinovsky said.
The presidents of Russia and the United States met in Helsinki on July 16. Putin and Trump talked one-on-one for more than two hours. Then the talks continued in the presence of delegations.