MOSCOW, December 12. /TASS/. The overwhelming majority of Russians express support for President Vladimir Putin, and the head of state greatly values the high esteem in which his fellow citizens hold him, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

"There are people [in the world] who support Putin’s actions and who oppose them. This is absolutely normal, but it is not what is most important," Peskov said, speaking at a news briefing.

"The most important thing is that Putin enjoys the support of the overwhelming majority of Russians," Peskov continued. "This is an absolutely undeniable fact; this is something that the president values and this is what he draws his strength from."

Commenting on a journalist’s remark that "the progressive world supports Putin," Peskov said: "Let’s not be dividing the planet’s population into the progressive and non-progressive groups."

"We should leave it to the apologists for old-style colonialism, which is what we are fighting against. We are not going to draw dividing lines [among people]," Peskov added.