Putin, Russian Security Council members discuss situation in Syria

MOSCOW, April 5. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and the permanent members of the national Security Council have discussed the situation in Syria and their recent international meetings, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "The meeting’s participants touched upon the situation in Syria, taking into account Thursday’s talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu," he said. "In addition, they discussed preparations for a meeting of the Russian-Turkish High-Level Cooperation Council scheduled to take place next week, the International Arctic Forum in St. Petersburg and international meetings expected to be held on its sidelines," Peskov noted. According to the Russian presidential spokesman, "the meeting’s agenda also included current social and economic development issues." The meeting involved Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, State Duma (the lower house of parliament) Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, Kremlin Administration Head Anton Vaino, Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Alexander Bortnikov, Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergei Naryshkin and Presidential Envoy for Environmental Protection, Ecology and Transport Sergei Ivanov. Russia’s St. Petersburg will host the Fifth International Arctic Forum on April 9-10. Apart from the Russian leader, Iceland’s president Gudni Thorlacius Johannesson, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg and Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven will also attend the event. Read more