Taking part in the meeting were State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino, Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, Presidential Aide Nikolai Patrushev, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Director of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov, and Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin.
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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Colleagues, good afternoon,
Today, we will discuss an issue that we address on a regular basis: interaction with our closest neighbours, the CIS countries.
We have always had, and I believe will continue to have, a special approach to this cooperation, both for historical reasons and due to the extensive work we carry out together with these countries, including economic cooperation.
These are our neighbours, and over the decades we have developed unique ties in the cultural and humanitarian spheres and in the human dimension: there are numerous mixed families, many shared interests in culture and other areas of fundamental importance.
With that, I would like to invite Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to begin our discussion. I am certain that our colleagues from the relevant sectors will have much to contribute and add to the report that he has prepared.
Please, Mr Lavrov.
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