This is CBSI on the world. I'm John Batchel. I welcome my colleague Katarina Zolotava.

She's in Moscow for geopolitical futures. Writing most recently about a mystery I did not realize I needed to solve.

Why did the United States and Russia choose Riyadh as a table to negotiate over?

Why was the MBS, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, so eager to have two major nuclear powers

in his country, talking about Ukraine.

Katerina, a very good day to you.

Your essay helps me understand that the Middle East is a particular concern of Moscow

and that the U.S. and Moscow working together for a European crisis, that's Ukraine, doesn't preclude the fact that they're

going to work together in other matters in the Middle East, especially Iran. I note in the

reporting about the conversation between President Trump and President Putin.

There was mentioned, given that Ukraine was the big centerpiece,

there was mention of Iran and negotiation with Iran

and its suspect nuclear weapons program threatening Israel.

What do we know about that conversation?

Was that a surprise to you? Good evening to you.

Good evening. Well, the conversations between the United States and Russia happen in almost

every week. Right now, we are expecting the new one coming in two days. And the issue of the Middle East, in their conversation, it's not something surprising.

Despite all of these, or both of these two countries are quite far from the area.

For example, Russia doesn't have the very close proximity to the Middle East and neither

the United States has this proximity to the Middle East. They have some common interests

there. And the most interesting thing is that Russia is actually changing position. Because if we take the historic facts,

and if we remember 1973 when there was Arab-Israeli conflict, Moscow was eager to help the Arab world, and actually they were supplying

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