Russian president's annual call-in broadcast may be held in April - newspaper
MOSCOW. March 20 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual "direct line" call-in live televised broadcast may be held in April, the Kommersant newspaper reported on Thursday.
Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the call-in program, during which the president responds to questions from Russian citizens, would be held in April.
"This is possible," Peskov told Kommersant, declining to give any exact date for such an event or name its possible topics.
The information available to Kommersant indicates that this program is unlikely to take place earlier than mid-April. This suggestion was confirmed by the newspaper's sources in the Russian government.
"It will be Vladimir Putin's second "direct line" following his election to a third term. Although it can rightfully be called a routine event, this time its agenda will be dominated by the accession of two new constituents - Crimea and Sevastopol - to Russia. And Crimea itself will be among the most probable centers of this live broadcast," according to Kommersant.