Putin to celebrate New Year's Day with family and friends, Kremlin says

MOSCOW, December 25. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin will traditionally ring in the New Year with his family and friends, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS. "Traditionally - with his loved ones, with friends," he said in response to a question as to how the president will celebrate. That said, the holiday week for Putin will be partially a working one. He seldom spends this time completely "as New Year’s holidays," the Kremlin official noted. "I think that he will use the first couple of days simply for relaxation, like everybody else. However, I will repeat, he cannot fully relax," the spokesman stated. He explained that the head of state constantly has to work with documents and other information. "Especially when the situation in Europe is so alarming, information is constantly coming in from all sources, by all channels," Putin’s press secretary said. The Kremlin official added that Putin has to read and listen to reports and this process cannot stop. He didn’t exclude that the president may hold some meetings in the middle of the holidays although, according to the spokesman, no full-format meetings have been scheduled yet. Putin’s press secretary specified that the head of state has not yet planned a trip to Sochi to mountain ski. "I have no information that he was planning to do so. So far, there are no plans," the spokesman said. Read more