MOSCOW, September 14. /TASS/. The Russian government acquitted itself well during the acute phase of the pandemic, even if some things could have been done better, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday at a meeting with members of the government and the leadership of the United Russia party.

"Many things could certainly have been done better, more efficiently, and in a timely manner, but on the whole, the government acquitted itself very well in the acute phase of the pandemic. They made decisions with the State Duma (lower house of parliament — TASS) quite enthusiastically, quickly, and confidently, which is very important. They established effective contacts and interaction, there were no delays in this sense," Putin said.

He added that he would "very much like to hope that in the future in a usual situation that is not associated with any crises, the work will be structured the same way."

At the end of the meeting, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin recalled that in his address to the Federal Assembly and in his speech at the United Russia congress, the head of state "came up with very important initiatives." The Cabinet is working on their implementation in close contact with United Russia, said Mishustin.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Children's Ombudsman Anna Kuznetsova, Head of the Sirius Educational Center Elena Shmeleva, Chief Doctor of Moscow’s Kommunarka COVID-19 hospital, Denis Protsenko, Deputy Prime Minister - Head of the Cabinet Office Dmitry Grigorenko and others.