Putin generally happy with PM Medvedev’s Duma speech

Russian Duma Building

(Interfax – April 17, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin is generally “positive” about Prime Minister Dmitriy Medvedev’s annual speech to the State Duma on the work of the government on 17 April, presidential press secretary Dmitriy Peskov said on the same day, as reported by Russian privately owned Interfax news agency.

Putin “on the whole gave a positive assessment of Prime Minister Dmitriy Medvedev’s speech in the State Duma”, Peskov was quoted as saying.

Peskov said that Putin had listened to Medvedev’s speech. However, Peskov added that, as presidential press secretary, he was so far not able to report a detailed assessment of all parts of it.

Two hours before Medvedev’s appearance in the Duma, the website LifeNews published a “secret” video of Putin harshly criticizing the work of the government, said to have been captured at a meeting with governors and ministers in Kalmykia the previous day (https://twitter.com/gabrelyanov/status/324403395622498304). Peskov later said that Putin’s harsh remarks were part of his conversation with regional leaders about dilapidated housing and were not addressed to the cabinet of ministers, as alleged by the media, state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

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