Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri met Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin Palace in Moscow.
Hariri was accompanied by Interior Minister Nouhad Mashnouk, ex-MP Ghattas Khoury, Hariri's chief of staff Nader Hariri and his adviser for Russian affairs George Shaaban. On the Russian side, the meeting was attended by Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov.
The one-hour talks involved a closed-door meeting between Hariri and Putin and the discussions tackled “the current situations in Lebanon and ex-PM Hariri's efforts to end the presidential void and elect a new president,” Hariri's office said.
Talks also addressed “the developments in the region, especially in Syria, and the efforts that are being exerted by Russia to resolve the Syrian crisis.”
The ex-PM had met Wednesday in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Interfax news agency quoted Hariri as saying Wednesday that Lebanon is ready for cooperation with Russia in the military and other fields.
He also said Syria should remain a unified state and Syrian President Bashar Assad cannot be part of the final solution to the Syrian crisis.