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Putin Met with Obama in Paris, Discussed Syria

The two presidents talked for 30 minutes behind closed doors.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with U.S. President Barack Obama in Paris on Monday, where they were both attending a summit on climate change, Russian media reported.

The two presidents talked for 30 minutes behind closed doors, the TASS state-owned news agency reported. Obama told Putin he regretted the incident where a Russian Su-24 plane was shot down by the Turkish military on the Turkish-Syrian border, the report said, citing Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

“Syria was also discussed in detail. Putin and Obama said it was necessary to start political stabilization [in the country],” Peskov was cited by TASS as saying. “[They] also talked about Ukraine and noted that the quickest implementation of the Minsk agreements is necessary,” he added.

According to an unidentified representative of the White House cited by Reuters, Obama told Putin that Syrian President Bashar Assad needs to leave his post in order for the political transition in the country to happen.

The representative also told Reuters that Obama pointed out that sanctions against Russia can be lifted only when the Minsk agreements are fully implemented.

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