The President informed the permanent members of the Security Council of the discussions during the recent Normandy Four meeting in Berlin, as well as the subsequent conversation with Federal Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel and President of France Francois Hollande on the Syrian issue.
The discussion focused on the situation in Aleppo in the context of a humanitarian pause, with an emphasis on the importance of using this opportunity to launch the process of separating the moderate opposition from terrorists.
The meeting also featured an exchange of views on the ongoing operation to liberate Mosul, with some participants expressing concern over the possibility of fighters moving to Syria and a spike in refugee flows.
Current issues on Russia’s domestic socioeconomic agenda were also discussed.
Taking part in the meeting were Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, Director of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov, Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin, and Special Presidential Representative for Environmental Protection, Ecology and Transport Sergei Ivanov.
