Taking part in the meeting were Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino, Secretary of the Security Council Sergei Shoigu, Presidential Aide Nikolai Patrushev, Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Federal Security Service Director Alexander Bortnikov, and Foreign Intelligence Service Director Sergei Naryshkin.
* * *
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues.
We regularly discuss Russia’s policy in various spheres and assess the situation in various regions of the world and Russia’s relations with the countries of these regions.
Today, I propose we hear the Foreign Minister’s report on our activities on the European track.
It is clear that Russia's relations with European countries are going through a crisis, for which we are not to blame. References to the events in Ukraine do not provide sufficient grounds, because this crisis arose due to the actions of both the previous US administration and a number of leading European nations. They supported the coup in Ukraine, which subsequently triggered the entire chain of tragic events that continue to unfold there.
We will not talk about the reasons behind this. We will talk about our relations with European countries and the EU as a whole. Let me reiterate: we have never abandoned the idea of developing these relations or restoring them.
Let us listen to Mr Lavrov, who will offer relevant assessments and his considerations on what we should do next in the European direction.
Mr Lavrov, go ahead please.
<…>