Russian President Vladimir Putin gained’t maintain his normal annual press convention this yr, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated Monday, though he stated he hoped Putin “will find an opportunity to communicate” with the media.
Putin has been holding massive end-of-year press conferences nearly yearly since 2001 after turning into president, in line with state news company TASS. The solely years when he didn’t maintain an annual press convention had been 2005, when he served as president, and likewise between 2008-2012 when he served as prime minister, in line with TASS.
Former US ambassador to Russia John Sullivan believes that Putin is avoiding scrutiny.
“I think it’s a sign of concern about his domestic support,” Sullivan told CNN on Monday.
“Putin doesn’t want to go out and spend hours before journalists, even state media, and risk getting asked difficult and embarrassing questions.”
At final yr’s press convention, Putin was asked about the build-up of Russian forces on the Ukrainian border and the nation’s rising alliance with China, in addition to frequent criticisms of his regime such because the remedy of imprisoned opposition chief Alexey Navalny.
In addition to a big convention with the media, in earlier years Putin has additionally addressed the Federal Assembly and held a marathon question-and-answer session with Russian residents, known as Direct Line.
During Monday’s name with journalists, Peskov didn’t point out a date for Putin’s tackle to the Federal Assembly, nor a Direct Line session.
However, on November 14, Peskov informed Russian state news outlet TASS that Putin would tackle the Federal Assembly earlier than the tip of 2022.
Peskov had stated earlier that the dates of Putin’s annual tackle to the meeting and the Direct Line session rely on his schedule, which may be very dynamic in mild of present occasions, in line with TASS.
