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Putin discusses preparations for intra-Syrian talks in Astana with Security Council

According to preliminary plans, talks on the Syrian settlement are to be held in Astana on January 23

MOSCOW, January 13. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin met on Friday with permanent members of the Russian Security Council to discuss preparations for a meeting on the Syrian settlement due to be held in Kazakhstan’s Astana, Russian president’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said.

"The meeting focused on the preparations for the intra-Syrian talks in Astana, including with due account of Putin’s recent telephone conversations with Presidents Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan and Recep Tyyip Erdogan of Turkey," he said.

Putin’s telephone contacts with the Kazakh and Turkish leaders took place earlier on Friday.

According to preliminary plans, talks on the Syrian settlement are to be held in Astana on January 23. The talks are expected to be attended by Syrian government officials and representatives of Syrian armed opposition groups.

Apart from that, according to Peskov, Putin and members of the Russian Security Council exchanged views on current issues of the domestic socio-economic situation.

Participants in the meeting included Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, speakers of both houses of the Russian parliament - Valentina Matviyenko of the Federation Council upper house and Vyacheslav Volodin of the State Duma lower house, chief of the presidential administration Anton Vaino, Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, director of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov, director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergey Naryshkin, Russian president’s envoy for environment protection activities, ecology and transport Sergey Ivanov.