President to address Federal Assembly before election on March 18 - source in Kremlin
MOSCOW. Feb 17 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to address the Federal Assembly before the presidential election scheduled on March 18, no exact date has been determined yet, a source in the Russian presidential administration told Interfax.
"[It will take place] before the election. No date has been set yet. The work on the text is underway," the source said, replying to a question whether the presidential address would take place before the election or would be postponed.
The final decision on the date always rests with the president, the source said.
The date of the address would depend on the readiness of the text, source said. The source did not confirm the possible date previously mentioned by the media, February 27.
The unusual situation with the address is that it has been postponed for several months for the first time, it was postponed by several days at most in the past years, the source said.