Russian President Vladimir Putin will give his traditional address to both houses of Parliament on February 21, postponed to December 2022 despite the fact that the Constitution obliges the president to give «annual messages,» Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed Friday.
«On February 21, the president of the Russian Federation will address the Federal Assembly,» Peskov said, stressing that the content of the message will address «the current situation,» Russian news agency TASS reported. The Kremlin has not yet decided whether it will accredit foreign journalists.
Thus, the message will take place just a few days before the first anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, unleashed on February 24, 2022 by order of Putin, who days earlier had recognized the independence of the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, located in the Donbas and the scene of a conflict since 2014.
Peskov himself stated in December when announcing the postponement of the speech that the reason was that Putin’s schedule is «very busy.» The Kremlin had also confirmed that Putin would not hold the press conference that is usually called at the end of the year to respond to the media on current issues.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
