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Everybody to have chance to speak at Putin’s meeting with civil society council — Kremlin

Dmitry Peskov didn’t say if film director Alexander Sokurov, a council member, will make a speech

MOSCOW, December 6. /TASS/. All participants in the meeting that Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to hold with the Council for the Development of Civil Society on Wednesday will be given a chance to speak, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS on Tuesday.

"Absolutely everybody can always get a chance to speak," the spokesman said, when asked if all members of the council will be given a chance to speak at the meeting.

Peskov didn’t say if film director Alexander Sokurov, a council member, will make a speech.

"I don’t know if he will," Peskov said.

He said some of the meeting could be held behind closed doors.

"We traditionally reserve a portion of it to be held without the press. Although sometimes it’s about the pressing issues and we make it public one way or the other," the spokesman said.

Putin holds a meeting with the council every year. Wednesday's event will be held via video link and will be Putin's first meeting with the council after several new members were appointed. In November, 10 new people were made members, including military reporter Alexander Kots, member of the civil society group Free Donbass, Elena Shishkina, head of the Moscow Region’s executive committee of the All-Russian People's Front, Yulia Belekhova and some others. Some of the excluded members were reporter Yekaterina Vinokurova, Ivan Zasursky, Nikolay Svanidze.

The Kremlin said the council members will use the meeting to talk about their work in 2022, for example, about various aspects of human rights assistance to the special military operation and the integration of the new constituents of the federation, about the harmonization of economic legislation, health workers and the practice of law. Traditionally, council members and the president have an active exchange of views on a wide range of issues, the Kremlin said.

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