Taking part in the meeting were State
Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin Volodin Vyacheslav Volodin VyacheslavChairman of the State Duma , Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive
Office Anton Vaino Vaino Anton Vaino AntonChief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office , Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu Shoigu Sergei Shoigu SergeiSecretary of the Russian Federation Security Council , Presidential Aide
Nikolai Patrushev Patrushev Nikolai Patrushev NikolaiAide to the President , Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev Kolokoltsev Vladimir Kolokoltsev VladimirInterior Minister of the Russian Federation , Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov Lavrov Sergei Lavrov SergeiMinister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation , Director of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov Bortnikov Alexander Bortnikov AlexanderDirector of the Federal Security Service ,
and Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin Naryshkin Sergei Naryshkin SergeiDirector of the Foreign Intelligence Service .

* * *

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Colleagues, good afternoon,

Today, we will discuss an issue that
we address on a regular basis: interaction with our closest neighbours, the CIS
countries.

We have always had, and I believe
will continue to have, a special approach to this cooperation, both for historical reasons and due to the extensive work we carry out together with
these countries, including economic cooperation.

These are our neighbours, and over the decades we have developed unique ties in the cultural and humanitarian spheres
and in the human dimension: there are numerous mixed families, many shared interests
in culture and other areas of fundamental importance.

With that, I would like to invite
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to begin our discussion. I am certain that our
colleagues from the relevant sectors will have much to contribute and add to the report that he has prepared.

Please, Mr Lavrov.

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