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Vladimir Putin stressed that Russia had been a major long-time financial and intellectual sponsor of UNESCO, and one of the consumers of the organisation’s product.

The president expressed satisfaction that UNESCO had restored the universality of its activities since Koichiro Matsuura took the position of Director-General.

During the talks it was also noted that the cooperation of Russia and UNESCO had been exceptionally fruitful in the past years. In particular, much had been achieved to restore the education system in Chechnya.

It was the fourth meeting of the Russian President with UNESCO Director-General. They also met twice in 2000 in Paris and Moscow and again in France earlier this year. Koichiro Matsuura also visited Russia in May 2003 to attend the celebration of St. Petersburg’s 300th anniversary.