Amid a reported shadow campaign by former Secretary of State John Kerry to save the Iran nuclear deal, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia on Sunday said such efforts occur regularly.
The Boston Globe on Friday reported that Kerry has met with individuals like Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in an effort to keep the U.S. in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. President Trump is facing a May 12 deadline to decide whether to continue to lift economic sanctions on Iran as part of the deal and has indicated he will walk away from the agreement.
Michael McFaul, the Russian ambassador under former President Barack Obama, was asked on NBC’s “Meet the Press” whether Kerry would have disapproved of former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice engaging in similar behavior.
“He probably wouldn’t like it. We probably would have noted it,” he said.
But McFaul said campaigns like Kerry’s “happen all the time” and noted an instance when he had breakfast with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who afterwards went to see Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“The good thing that Henry used to do and I think still does, he would report to us and tell us about his impressions of Vladimir Putin,” McFaul said, adding that he hoped Kerry was having similar conversations with current Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
