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Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service, said that he had "a constructive and friendly meeting" with an unnamed representative of the Syrian intelligence services, the state TASS news agency reported on Friday.
TASS cited Naryshkin as saying that the meeting had been held last week in Baku in Azerbaijan, without providing further details.
Russia is seeking to shore up its military presence in Syria where it operates an airbase and a naval facility.