Russia: Ukraine top of the agenda at Putin marathon press conference

Russia: Ukraine top of the agenda at Putin marathon press conference

President Vladimir Putin kicked off with Ukraine as the first topic of his annual press conference in Moscow, Thursday. He assured the conference that the Russian government were acting in a spirit of brotherhood to the Ukrainian people, as illustrated by his work with the previous government of Yulia Tymoshenko. He said: "If we truly say that this is a brotherly people and a brotherly country, then we must act like close relatives and support the Ukrainian people in this difficult situation. I assure you that this is the most important reason that we made these decisions. I draw your attention to the fact that we actively worked with the previous government of Ukraine led by Tymoshenko. We worked extensively in all areas. It was her government that signed the gas contract. I considered and still consider that that contract was completely based on economic factors and is in full compliance with our practice in working with other external partners."

The press conference draws attendees from all across Russia, with over 1000 media professionals attending covering hard news questions, to Putin’s personal preferences. The longest ever event was in 2008, when the conference lasted four hours and forty minutes.