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Taking part in the meeting on the Russian side were Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office – Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Minister of Defence Andrei Belousov, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Energy Sergei Tsivilev, Director of the Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugayev, and Director General of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexei Likhachev.

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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President,

I am delighted to see you, this time on the sidelines of events held to celebrate the 80^th anniversary of the end of World War II and China’s victory over Japanese militarism.

We meet regularly. Our efforts in this sphere, our interaction with the Congo are among our foreign policy priorities in Africa. The Congo is our reliable and time-tested friend and partner.

You regularly attend Russia–Africa meetings at the level of heads of state and other events. We maintain regular personal contact, and our colleagues in the government collaborate in various spheres.

Our trade ties are stable, but as we have both pointed out many times, further efforts are necessary to advance them to a new level.

Young people from your country continue to receive professional training in Russia. We are not only ready to maintain this level of ties but also to increase the number of Congolese young people who wish to receive an education in the Russian Federation.

Our foreign ministries maintain regular contact, and we coordinate our work at all international platforms.

Mr President, I am delighted to have this opportunity to meet with you on the sidelines of today’s events.

President of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso (retranslated): Thank you very much, Mr President, my dear friend.

It is always a great pleasure and honour for me to meet with you, as well as with other leaders and representatives of the Russian Federation.

Of course, I have fond memories of the events I attended in Moscow several months ago, namely the military parade. I attended a military parade today as well. As I have said, I fondly remember the events I attended in Moscow, when we celebrated a landmark event, Victory over Nazism and fascism. The Red Army was the first to enter Berlin.

It goes without saying that we also supported the resistance movement and struggle of the Chinese people against Japanese aggression. We remember Mao Zedong and the other forces that came together and acted jointly to defeat Japanese aggression. We are also aware of problems in Taiwan, but we know the background.

I was delighted to receive an invitation from President Xi Jinping to attend this parade and this solemn celebration. When I learned that you will be here as well, I thought it would be great to hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of these events and to have a dialogue.

For my part, I would like to note the high level of our relations and the ties between our states. These relations are developing. Today we can also exchange views on global issues that need to be addressed. Thank you very much for finding the time to meet with me.

Relations between our countries are growing ever stronger. I hope that we will be able to discuss a number of issues in the restricted format. I see that you have brought along a large delegation today.

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