Putin starts preparing address to Federal Assembly
MOSCOW. Feb 5 (Interfax) - President Vladimir Putin has started preparing his address to the Federal Assembly, and the date will be announced later, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the press on Tuesday.
"Work on the address has begun. Relevant units of the presidential administration are at work, and relevant agencies and ministries are being involved. The president is also working on the substance of the address," Peskov said in response to a question from Interfax.
He promised the press to announce the date of the speech later.
The president annually delivers such an address, usually at the end of the year. However, he skipped 2017 and gave a speech in March 2018.
Parliamentarians were invited to the Kremlin to hear the presidential address in the previous years, but the Manezh hosted the event in March 2018; more people were invited that year, and multi-media technology was used. The capacities of Russia's new weapons were demonstrated on wide screens.
Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said in December 2018 that Putin would deliver his next address to parliament in the first quarter of 2019.