MOSCOW, December 23. / TASS /. Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold his major annual press conference on Thursday. It will address journalists for the 17th time in this format.

In-person press conference

This year, the annual press conference will return to face-to-face mode and will be held in the Moscow Armory. The event begins at 12:00 p.m. Moscow time. In 2020, Putin held the press conference at his residence in Novo-Ogaryovo, with the majority of reporters speaking to him via a video bridge.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this year the event has been technologically adapted to the pandemic situation. “The situation is relatively calm from an epidemiological point of view,” added the press secretary.

He stressed that “it is always much more convenient for him (Putin) to see people, and it is more convenient for journalists, of course, to ask questions personally,” Peskov concluded.

Free questions – comprehensive answers

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that this is a classic press conference “with a free agenda, free questions and exhaustive answers from the head of state”. According to him, the “questions were not written in advance, they are all easily predictable”.

As Peskov noted, the president’s greatest emotional reaction at such meetings is caused by questions about those issues “which are on his working agenda.” He specified that Putin works on a daily basis for the socio-economic development of the country, all subjects “related to people” are his priority. The Kremlin spokesman said the Russian head of state could answer some questions on international relations at his annual press conference. “This turbulence in international affairs may not have been seen for many, many decades,” he said.

As the presidential press secretary said, this event is very important for Putin in terms of summing up the results of the year, including in the economy, domestic politics and international relations. According to Peskov, all of this is of great interest, “and it all has to be said.”