MOSCOW, December 19. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin says the decision to create the national messenger Max was the correct one.

"This is definitely the right step. But I agree with you that there should be competition. And there will be," Putin said during the combined Direct Line Q&A session and year-end press conference headlined "Results of the Year."

The president noted that there are already a number of services provided to Russians through the Max system. "We could not provide such services through foreign systems before due to a number of circumstances, including for security reasons," he added.

Max is a Russian digital user services platform that combines a messenger with key communication capabilities for users: audio and video calls, chats, voice messages, sending large files, and money transfers. The platform integrates unique business services in the format of mini-applications and chatbots, allowing users to solve everyday tasks.

The number of registered users in Max has reached 75 million.