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Kremlin maintains working contacts with Syrian president — Russian presidential aide

MOSCOW, December 22 /TASS/. Kremlin maintains working contacts with Syrian President Bashar Assad but the latter’s visit to Moscow is not being discussed, Russian president’s aide Yury Ushakov told journalists on Monday.

“We maintain working relations with the Syrian president but the Syrian president’s visit is not being discussed,” Ushakov said.

Late in November, Russian President Vladimir Putin met Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem in Sochi, the Russian Black Sea, who later described his negotiations with the Russian leader as “very productive.”

Two weeks later, on December 10, President Bashar Assad received Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, the Russian President’s Special Representative for the Middle East and Africa, in Damascus.

They discussed prospects for renewing a political settlement in the light of Russia’s initiative to provide the “Moscow floor” for contacts between representatives of the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition.