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French, Russian defense ministers hold telephone talks ahead of Moscow meeting

The meeting between Russian and French defense and foreign ministers will be held in Moscow on September 9

French Defense Minister Florence Parly EPA-EFE/WAEL HAMZEH

French Defense Minister Florence Parly

© EPA-EFE/WAEL HAMZEH

PARIS, September 3. /TASS/. The defense ministers of Russia and France will discuss the situation in Ukraine, as well as recent developments in the Persian Gulf, Levant and Central African Republic (CAR) at the meeting on September 9 in Moscow, French Defense Minister Florence Parly said on Tuesday after telephone talks with her Russian counterpart Sergey Shoigu.

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French president highlights Russia’s important role in settling global crises

"Today I talked on the phone with my Russian colleague Sergey Shoigu. Ukraine, Persian Gulf, Levant, CAR: we discussed many topics that will be on the agenda for our meeting in Moscow together with [French and Russian foreign ministers] Jean-Yves Le Drian and Sergey Lavrov," Parly wrote on her official Twitter account.

The meeting between Russian and French defense and foreign ministers will be held in Moscow on September 9. The last meeting in this format took place in Paris on 31 October 2012.

Russian Foreign Ministry's official spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier that the situation around Iran and Syria, as well as in Libya, Venezuela and Ukraine, will be discussed at the meeting. Special attention will also be paid to issues of preventing the deployment of weapons in space. Zakharova said that the sides will also discuss settlement on the Korean Peninsula, situation in the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, and pressing matters in Russian-French bilateral relations.

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