Putin to focus on support measures for post-COVID development in his annual address

Russian President Vladimir Putin will focus on systematic measures to support post-pandemic development in his annual address to the Federal Assembly on April 21, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday.

According to Peskov, Russia is still trying to emerge from the COVID-19 crisis, and it is unclear how long this period will last. He stressed that it is necessary to get out of the crisis and "compensate for the downfall that took place." "We need not just to compensate, but to move toward the development. Obviously, in any case, this will be discussed in the address. Some kind of systemic support measures. The president talks about this traditionally. I think that we cannot rule out that he will speak about it this year as well," Peskov said as aired by Rossiya 1 broadcaster.

The spokesman added that Putin's address will be "post-COVID" since the country is now running through an "unprecedented period."

Peskov noted that an annual address to the parliament is authored by Putin himself, and the president often continues working on it until the last minute. As a result, Putin often says unexpected things in his message, even for high-ranking officials, according to the spokesman.

"I will tell you more than that. Most frequently. Most frequently, it happens so. Of course, [first] this voluminous material, the voluminous text of the president's speech, is being born. But as a rule, on the day before the delivery of the address or on the last night, the president can supplement and most often supplements some of his paragraphs, sometimes entire pages, leaving those who participated in the preparation surprised to hear that during the delivery along with the rest," he added.

Therefore, Putin's address often has handwritten remarks, Peskov said.

TV BRICS reports with reference to ANI.


Photo: kremlin.ru