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St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2016

Putin to hold series of meetings on SPIEF sidelines

The president's day will begin with a meeting with Chief Executive Officer of Royal Dutch Shell Ben van Beurden

© Mikhail Metzel/TASS

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MOSCOW, June 16. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin will spend his working day on Thursday in Russia’s second largest city of St. Petersburg where he will have a series of meetings on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

The series began already late on Wednesday when President Putin had an informal dinner with France’s former President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Putin’s day will begin with a meeting with Chief Executive Officer of Royal Dutch Shell Ben van Beurden. The meeting is expected to focus on certain aspects of the company’s operation in Russia, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told journalists earlier. Apart from that, Royal Dutcj Shell and Russia’s Gazprom will sign an agreement on the Baltic LNG plant in the presence of the Russian leader.

The meeting with Guinean President Alpha Conde is expected to focus on anti-Ebola efforts.

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After that, the Russian president will have talks with President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker. Among possible topics for discussion, according Ushakov, will be relations between Russia and the European Union, the anti-Russian sanctions and Russia’s counter measures, and the migration crisis in the European Union. It is not ruled out that Putin and Juncker might touch upon international problems, including settlement in Syria and Ukraine. It is also planned to discuss energy-related issues, including the Nord Stream-2 project and prospects for resuming energy dialogue between Russia and the European Union.

Putin’s next meeting will be with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The presidential aide said Putin and Ban will discuss efforts against international terrorism, the situation in Syria and the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. Apart from that, the Russian president will award an Order of Friendship to the United Nations chief.

Last but not least on the presidential schedule will be a working dinner with members of the international expert council of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and representatives of the international investment community. According to Ushakov, participants in the dinner will include representatives of investment funds from 18 countries who manage an aggregate capital of more than $10 trillion.

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Alexander Pankin noted that during his visit to New York he did not have any talks with UN officials on the Russian-UN memorandum

Niger would like Russia to train its troops — interior minister says

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