In his annual press conference, which ran four hours, Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to ease the country’s economic woes by diversifying its heavy reliance on oil and gas. He also said he’s confident the plummeting ruble will recover.
President Putin displayed his traditional defiant attitude toward the West, saying Russia has not been the aggressor causing relations to sour. The BBC’s Sarah Rainsford joins s Robin Young to discuss the tone of the press conference, and whether it included anything new.
Note: This BBC piece can be heard in theHere & Now podcast or the WBUR mobile app.
Guest
- Sarah Rainsford, Havana correspondent for the BBC. She tweets @sarahrainsford.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDAxNzg0MDExMDEyMTYyMjc1MDE3NGVmMw004))