MOSCOW. April 23 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a series of meetings with military commanders and defense industry executives in May to discuss military planning and development of the defense sector, the newspaper Izvestia said on Monday citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
"The presidential press secretary has told Izvestia that the events will address military planning and development of the country's defense sector," the newspaper said.
Izvestia said with reference to the Kremlin press service that the recent meeting between Putin, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, and General Staff Chief Valery Gerasimov addressed the Syria situation amongst other issues. It was decided to hold another series of meetings with military commanders and representatives of the defense sector in Sochi in the middle of May, the newspaper said.
In the opinion of Mikhail Remizov, the President of the National Strategy Institute and head of the Presidium of the Military Industrial Commission's Expert Council, the May meetings between the president, military commanders, and representatives of the defense sector will have an agenda similar to the one of last year's meetings and focus on the state armament program of 2018-2027.
"The program is ready but may still be adjusted to various circumstances, including an analysis of the Syria campaign," Izvestia quoted Remizov.
The newspaper said that the president meets with military commanders and representatives of the defense sector twice a year. Peskov has described such events as "many-day brainstorms" and said that their format was the idea of the chief of state.