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Putin, Merkel to discuss situation in Middle East, conflict in Ukraine

German Chancellor will arrive in Russia on a working visit at the invitation of the Russian head of state

Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel Mikhail Metzel/TASS

Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel

© Mikhail Metzel/TASS

MOSCOW, January 11. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks in Moscow with German Chancellor Angela Merkel who will arrive in Russia on a working visit at the invitation of the Russian head of state. The Kremlin press service earlier reported that the Russian and German leaders planned to discuss pressing global issues, including the situation in Syria, Libya and the escalation in the Middle East after the US airstrike at Baghdad airport on January 3.

Putin and Merkel will also discuss ways of resolving the intra-Ukrainian conflict from the perspective of the implementation of the 2015 Package of Measures and the agreements reached at the Normandy Four summit held in Paris on December 9, 2019.

The two leaders agreed to hold a bilateral meeting during the Normandy Four summit in Paris, Federal Government Spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters at a press briefing on Friday. He earlier said that during the talks in Moscow the two sides would discuss global issues, specifically, Syria, Libya, Iraq, Iran and Ukraine and would address bilateral issues. Commenting on the upcoming meeting, Seibert stressed that Russia is an important player on the global stage and, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, it is vital for resolving political conflicts.

Middle East issues

According to the German government, during the meeting, Putin and Merkel are expected to discuss pressing international issues, including the situation in Syria, Libya and the aggravation of the situation in the Middle East in the wake of the January 3 US airstrike. "Obviously, tensions between the US and Iran, along with a number of other issues, can be the subject-matter of the talks between the chancellor and President Putin in Moscow," Seibert said.

He also noted that Russia, along with Turkey, was an important partner in the Libyan settlement. Berlin welcomed the initiative put forward by Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to establish a ceasefire in Libya at midnight on January 12.

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