MOSCOW, July 17. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has no plans to send congratulations to former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who celebrates her 70th birthday on Wednesday, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"As far as I know, there are no any plans in this regard," the Kremlin spokesman said when asked whether Putin would congratulate Merkel.

"There has been no communication in recent years," Peskov added.

The last meeting between Putin and Merkel took place in August 2021, when the German chancellor paid a working visit to Russia as part of her "farewell tour". Their last phone conversation was in December of the same year.

Merkel served as chancellor from November 2005 to December 2021, during which time she and Putin had about 30 meetings (Dmitry Medvedev, who served as Russian president in 2008-2012, met with the German chancellor 20 more times).