MOSCOW, December 25. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin held his traditional pre-New Year meeting with businessmen on Wednesday night, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said.

"Late tonight, Vladimir Putin held a traditional pre-New Year meeting with business circles," he said. "The meeting was purely businesslike and practical."

"In particular, the participants addressed issues of the demographic situation in the country, corporate policies aimed at supporting childbirth, and companies’ investment activities," Peskov said. "Environmental protection and other subjects were also raised."

"They spoke about the [key] rate, loans, and the ruble exchange rate. Significant attention was paid to the topic of import substitution. Other pressing issues of the country’s present-day economic development [were also discussed]," Peskov added.

The meeting was attended by heads of private and state-run companies. The Russian government’s officials in charge of economy and social affairs, presidential administration officials, and Russian Central Bank chief Elvira Nabiullina also took part.

During the meeting, the head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Alexander Shokhin, invited the Russian president to participate in the union’s next congress in the spring of 2026.