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'Siberian Coat?': German Chancellor Merkel Asks Putin in Russian at Syria Summit

Russian, Turkish, German and French leaders have held talks in Istanbul during a summit on the fundamental issues of the Syrian settlement and the resolution of the Syrian conflict.
Sputnik

An awkward situation took place during the summit on Syria, when German Chancellor Angela Merkel commented on Putin's coat.

"A Siberian coat?" Merkel asked in Russian, then in English when she saw how the Russian president was buttoning his apparel.

Vladimir Putin's answer was "no."

Russian President Vladimir Putin presented the participants of the quadripartite summit on Syria with fish and nuts from Khanty-Mansiysk, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated.

"Fish, berries, nuts and other food," Peskov specified. 

READ MORE: Putin, Erdogan, Merkel and Macron Hold Joint Meeting on Syria (VIDEO)

Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, Emmanuel Macron of France and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany met in Istanbul to review developments in Syria.

Putin and Erdogan have been playing a key role in the settlement of the Syrian crisis. In 2017, Moscow and Ankara along with Iran reached an agreement on the creation of de-escalation zones in Syria, while in September, the Russian and Turkish presidents agreed to demilitarize the Idlib de-escalation zone.

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