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Macron-Putin meeting to be held in Moscow on February 7 — Kremlin

According to Dmitry Peskov, there will be Russian-French talks and a joint press conference

MOSCOW, February 4. /TASS/. The presidents of Russia and France, Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron, will hold talks in Moscow on February 7, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"Indeed, Putin and Macron have agreed that Macron will be in Moscow on Monday. There will be Russian-French talks and a joint press conference," the Kremlin spokesman said, stressing that the French leader's visit would be "very important."

"Many topics are on the agenda," Peskov said.

First and foremost, the leaders will discuss the situation around the issue of Russian security guarantees. "Putin will be ready to continue the discussion that he and Macron started during several telephone conversations in recent days, to outline [Russia’s] concerns, our vision of the situation and our understanding of what we have received as a response from the United States and NATO," the Kremlin spokesman said. In addition, Peskov expects that the leaders will also say "at least a couple of words" on bilateral relations, which Moscow considers very important.

Macron's arrival on February 7 will be the third visit of a foreign leader to Moscow over the past week. On February 1, Putin held talks in the Kremlin with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and on February 3 with Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez.

On Friday, the Russian leader paid a visit to China for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and to attend the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics. On February 15, Putin is scheduled to hold a meeting in Moscow with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

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