MOSCOW, December 15. /TASS/. Today's voluminous speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin is not a State of the Nation Address to the Federal Assembly, although there is much in common, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS.
"In terms of content and the volume of tasks set and initiatives voiced, there is de facto a lot in common with the State of the Nation Address [of the Russian president to the Federal Assembly]. There have been other informative speeches by the head of state over the past few months. Still, this is not the address," the Kremlin spokesman said when asked whether Putin's hour-long speech at today's event could be regarded as being equivalent to a State of the Nation Address.
In his speech, Putin assessed the current situation in and around the country, and outlined the six main objectives of state policy in 2023, as well as guidelines for future years. At the very beginning of his speech, the head of state noted that the new solutions he proposed were designed to respond to the challenges facing the Russian economy and citizens today, and would allow the country to confidently develop. In particular, he touched on construction and housing, health and demographics, technological sovereignty, finance, the development of new regions of the Russian Federation and other issues. After the president's speech the meeting continued.
Earlier, a source told TASS that the President's State of the Nation Address to the Federal Assembly may not take place this year. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov then called it fairly obvious that the event could take place as early as next year.
The previous President's State of the Nation Address was delivered in April 2021.