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Putin’s meeting with The Elders scheduled for April 29 — FM

The Elders is an independent group of political and public leaders who earlier held top positions in their respective countries and international organizations

© Alexey Druzhinin/Russian president's press service/TASS

MOSCOW, April 28. /TASS/. A meeting of representatives of The Elders with Russian President Vladimir Putin scheduled for Wednesday reflects Russia’s deep respect to the activities of this group, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday during a meeting with the representatives of The Elders.

"The dialogue with you definitely enriches the international agenda," the minister told the guests. "It’s gratifying that this experience is coupled with energy, determination and willingness to contribute to the solution of international problems."

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Putin to meet with The Elders — Kremlin spokesman

Lavrov expressed confidence that combined efforts of the former heads of state and international organizations will allow to successfully deal with the challenges facing the modern world. "Our deep respect to your activities is reflected in the fact that your meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin will take place tomorrow," Russia’s top diplomat added.

"I’ll be glad to hear your assessment of what is happening in different parts of the world, and I will also be glad to share Russia’s view on various crises that require joint efforts of the international community," Lavrov said.

The Elders is an independent group of political and public leaders who earlier held top positions in their respective countries and international organizations. It was founded in 2007 by former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela.

Taking part in the meeting with Lavrov on Tuesday were the seventh UN Secretary General and Chairman of the group Kofi Annan, former Presidents Jimmy Carter of the United States, Marti Ahtisaari of Finland and Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico, former Prime Minister of Norway Gro Harlem Brundtland who served as Director-General of the World Health Organization between 1998 and 2013 and also Lakhdar Brahimi, who held the position of special envoy of the UN Secretary General for Syria in 2012-2014.

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Foreign policy Sergey Lavrov Vladimir Putin

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