MOSCOW, December 16. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin sat down with permanent members of the Russian Security Council to discuss issues on the present-day agenda regarding the provision of the country’s security and cooperation with neighboring countries, the Kremlin’s official website reported in a statement, adding that the meeting took place late Thursday night.
"Today, we will focus on the current issues regarding the provision of the country’s security in various directions, as well as talk about our interaction with neighboring countries on certain, important areas for us," the statement quoted Putin as saying when opening the session.
Putin then passed the floor to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The Russian Security Council meeting was also attended by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Speakers of both houses of parliament Valentina Matviyenko and Vyacheslav Volodin, Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev, Presidential Administration Head Anton Vaino, Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev, Federal Security Service Director Alexander Bortnikov, Special Russian Presidential Representative for Environmental Protection, Ecology and Transport Sergey Ivanov.