Putin discusses national security in Arctic with Russian Security Council

MOSCOW, August 21. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the strategy for developing the Russian Arctic and issues related to ensuring national security in the Arctic during an in-person meeting with the permanent members of the Russian Security Council. "We have two issues on the agenda. The first is of a general military-political nature, while the second is more specific: it concerns the development strategy for the Russian Arctic and ensuring national security in the region. I propose we start with the second," the Russian leader told the meeting participants. He then gave the floor to his plenipotentiary envoy in the Far Eastern Federal District and Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev, as well as to his aide and Maritime Board Chairman Nikolay Patrushev. This is the third consecutive in-person meeting of the Russian Security Council since the beginning of August. Other participants included Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Speakers of both houses of parliament Valentina Matviyenko and Vyacheslav Volodin, Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev, Presidential Administration Head Anton Vaino, Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu, Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Federal Security Service Director Alexander Bortnikov, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergey Naryshkin.