May 29, 2019 - World

White House announces U.S.-Israel-Russia security summit

National security adviser John Bolton will hold a summit with his Russian and Israeli counterparts in Jerusalem in June, the White House announced today.

Why it matters: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned the summit in his speech tonight in which he acknowledged his failure to form a new governing coalition. With Israel now set for new elections in September, Netanyahu used the White House statement as the beginning of his campaign. He said he was able to get Trump and Putin to sign on to an "unprecedented" summit.

What to watch: The White House statement said the three national security advisers will discuss regional security issues. But Israeli officials involved in the initiative said Netanyahu mainly wants to use this meeting to get the U.S. and Russia to cooperate on a solution that will push Iranian forces out of Syria.

Go deeper: Israel headed for new elections after Netanyahu fails to form coalition

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