Can Putin succeed where Pakistan failed – and on whose terms?

Hours after the US-Iran talks in Islamabad ended inconclusively, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday told his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian that Moscow was ready to mediate between the United States and Iran to end the ongoing war in West Asia. On Sunday, the two leaders held a phone call after the US and Iranian negotiators failed to agree after 21 hours of marathon talks in Islamabad. Hence, the clock is now ticking for the fragile two-week ceasefire agreed by both countries. The talks in Islamabad were monumental since it was the first direct talks between Washington and Tehran since…