Russia: President Vladimir Putin to address Federal Assembly on February 29

In a press statement, the Kremlin stated, "On February 29, 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin will deliver his annual Address to the Federal Assembly."

As per the Russian constitution, the president "addresses the Federal Assembly with an annual report on the situation in the country, on the main directions of the state's domestic and foreign policy."

During the address, the head of the state traditionally speaks about his assessment of the situation in Russia and sets tasks for the future, according to the TASS report.

The previous annual address took place in February 2023. It was the 28th in the modern history of Russia and the 18th for Putin.

Earlier in January, Russian President Putin has said that the country has become Europe's first economy and stands at number five in the world in terms of purchasing power parity, TASS reported.

"It seems that we are being strangled and pressured from every side, but still, we are the largest economy in Europe," Putin said at a meeting with entrepreneurs active in Russia's Far East, according to TASS.

"We left Germany behind and climbed to fifth in the world [in terms of GDP at purchasing power parity]: China, the US, India, Japan and Russia. We are number one in Europe," he added.

The Russian President, however, underlined that the country still "needs to work harder" for the per capita indicator.

"We have left all of Europe behind in terms of purchasing power parity but as for the per capita indicator, we need to work harder. There is still work to be done," TASS quoted him as saying. (ANI)